RESEARCH INTERESTS
Our lab's research focuses on molecular breeding of several
solanaceous species: eggplant, pepper and tomato. These three crops are of great
economic importance in Turkey, which consistently ranks third in worldwide
production of each species. Eggplant is an especially interesting crop as the
term eggplant actually encompasses three species: Solanum melongena, S.
macrocarpon and S. aethiopicum. S. melongena is the eggplant that most of us
know while the other two species are African eggplants that are grown for their
fruits and leaves. Our research efforts in eggplant are aimed at development of
S. melongena as a molecular genetic system. To this end, we are exploiting the
knowledge base gained over a century of genetic research in tomato. One goal is
the development of a comprehensive, comparative linkage map of eggplant by the
addition of markers to the current RFLP marker map. In collaboration with
Keygene and Marie-Christine Daunay at INRA, 400 AFLP markers have been added to
the map. We are also testing and mapping tomato microsatellite and COSII markers
in an interspecific (S. linnaeanum x S. melongena) F2 population. SSR primers
have been designed using the S. melongena EST library sequence information
available on SGN. These primers are being tested for polymorphism in cultivated
and wild eggplant species. In addition to their use for establishing a molecular
map of eggplant that can be directly compared to the maps of other solanaceous
species, these markers are being used to study genetic diversity in wild
eggplant species and in Turkish cultivars that exhibit great morphological
variation. Concurrent with map development, we are studying the inheritance and
genetic control of disease resistances, glykoalkaloid production and
antioxidant-related traits in eggplant.
Our research in pepper and tomato follows similar themes. We are examining the
genetic control of multiple virus resistances in pepper as well as the
antioxidant activity of Turkish pepper cultivars. Antioxidant activity of
Turkish tomato cultivars and an advanced mapping population are also being
determined. So far, two years of data have been collected for total antioxidant
activity, lycopene, vitamin C and phenolics content for the tomato mapping
population and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping is in progress. Other
research in tomato is focused on the genetic control of salt tolerance in tomato
and its relationship to the genetic control and activity of antioxidant
compounds and enzymes.
In addition to these solanaceous species, our lab works with other crops of
economic importance in Turkey. For example, we are collaborating with government
and private breeding institutes to establish molecular breeding of cotton in
Turkey. We are also interested in studying the genetic diversity contained in
the Turkish National Germplasm Repository for crops including melon, sesame,
opium poppy. Funding is provided by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological
Research Council of Turkey), DPT (The State Planning Organization of Turkey) and
private companies.