NIAB EMR, in a joint UK–China research programme, has discovered several strains of the strawberry disease Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae), belonging to two different groups, that act in very different ways. The results are already being used by plant breeders in the development of a new generation of wilt resistant varieties.
Tag: genetics
NIAB EMR appoints new research leader in technology development
Dr Matt Clark
UK horticultural crop research organisation NIAB EMR has appointed Dr Matt Clark to its technology development programme.
Dr Clark brings a wealth of experience to his new role at NIAB EMR, including advancing the use of low-cost sequencing and genotyping in crop systems. He has also pioneered the use of nanopore sequencing technologies together with diagnostics and in-the-field applications.
Based at East Malling in Kent, Dr Clark will be expanding NIAB EMR’s capabilities in genomics, the sequencing and analysis of a plant’s genome, working on a range of new technologies for use across the agricultural, horticultural and environmental sectors.
NIAB EMR expands fruit quality and development research programme
Dr Andy Simkin
UK horticultural crop research organisation NIAB EMR has appointed Dr Andrew Simkin to lead its emerging fruit quality and development research programme.
Dr Simkin will be expanding NIAB EMR’s capabilities in fruit quality research in perennial and annual horticultural crops, tackling the challenge of improving the flavour and health benefits associated with fruit consumption. He will be joining NIAB EMR’s increasingly successful Genetics, Genomics and Breeding (GGB) Team, responsible for Malling Centenary, one of the most sought after strawberry varieties currently in the marketplace, as well as world-leading perennial genomics expertise, such as the BBSRC and industry-funded international consortium sequencing the octoploid strawberry.