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Project properties |
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| Title | Study the genetic background of lignification in tomato stems |
| Group | Plant Breeding, Laboratory of |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Wenyan Zhang, Prof. Dr. Luisa Trindade |
| Examiner(s) | Prof. Dr. Luisa Trindade |
| Contact info | luisa.trindade@wur.nl, wenyan.zhang@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2024/01/01 |
| End date | 2026/01/01 |
| Description | Lignin is an important secondary metabolite that is involved in plant development and growth. It is concentrated in the secondary cell wall and bestowed plants with physical strength and resistance to unfavorable environments. In addition, lignin is a major component of biomass residuals and has a wide range of applications in the industry, meaning that it has potential values in the biobased economy. The study of lignification in crops is rather limited. Therefore, it is pivotal to understand how lignification patterns and their biochemical features can affect plant architecture. In this project, we will focus on tomato. The output will provide novel perspectives in manipulating lignification in crops for enhancing plant stress resistance and breeding for crops as economically feasible resources for lignin.
The thesis will comprise one or more of the following activities: • Phenotyping architectural traits and lignification in a tomato population • Establish a reliable and fast screening method for generating high-throughput biochemical data based on Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) • Apply population genetics concepts to study the genetic structure and the variation of the mapping population • Combine the high-throughput phenotyping methods and the advanced genotyping data through association genetics (GWAS) |
| Used skills | Depending on the specific project, the student will use one or more of the following skills:
• Statistical analysis (i.e modeling of phenotypic data, prediction of chemical data) • Biochemical analysis (i.e., lignin content and composition analysis) • Genetic analysis (i.e., GWAS and gene function validation) |
| Requirements | PBR 31306 or PBR-37306 or PBR 30316 |