ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi awarded international research project under India-United Kingdom collaboration

ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi has been awarded with an international research project under India-United Kingdom (UK) collaboration.

The research project on “Genomics-assisted development of Solanum chilense introgression lines for enhancing the drought resistance in tomatoes” has been launched under the India- United Kingdom collaborative ‘Crop Genomics and Technologies’ (CGAT) call. The project is a collaboration between Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi and Cranfield University, UK. It is a part of £10 million research collaboration on future-proof crops which include seven projects jointly funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), UK and Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India.

The project will develop the genomic resources for drought tolerant wild relatives of tomato; Solanum chilense and Solanum sitiens by performing deep sequencing and de novo genome assembly. The genetic resources in the form of introgression line (IL) and inbred backcross line (IBL) populations will also be developed to capture the Solanum chilense genome for exploitation in tomato breeding programs. Further, these genetic and genomic resources will be used to discover novel alleles for key target traits (water use efficiency, wilting resistance and root traits) to improve sustainable water use in tomato production.

Dr. H. C. Prasanna, Senior Scientist, ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi will lead the Indian side and Dr. Andrew Thompson, Cranfield University, UK will be the lead Principal Investigator from UK.

(Source: ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi)