Agriculture Webinar | The Invaluable Value of Plant Genetic Resources
Welcome from the Chair
4th Agriculture Webinar
The Invaluable Value of Plant Genetic Resources
Plant genetic resources (PGR) play a vital role in food security but also in the production of other valuable materials such as fiber, fuel, shelter, chemical substances, medicines etc and contribute to the enrichment and conservation of agrobiodiversity. Crop landraces, crop wild relatives and medicinal plants consist important genetic resources for food and agriculture and breeding.
The webinar will address three important types of genetic resources.
The first presentation provides an insight to Crop Wild Relatives and their hidden treasure of valuable genes that can broaden the genetic base of crops and improve their adaptation to climate change.
The second presentation relates to medicinal plants that have been used by humans since ancient times and the increased demand for them requires their exploitation. Opportunities and challenges for their breeding will be presented.
The third presentation will be about crop landraces, important genetic resources that have provided agricultural production for centuries and are currently threatened by genetic erosion. Their role in agriculture and plant breeding as well as their socioeconomic and heritage value will be presented.
We hope these three contributions will stimulate a discussion with attendees, new insights and collaborations.
Date: 11 November 2022
Time: 9:00 am CET | 3:00 am EST | 4:00 pm CST Asia
Webinar ID: 827 7488 7729
Webinar Secretariat: agriculture.webinar@mdpi.com
Chair
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece
Penelope Bebeli is a Professor of Plant Breeding at the Agricultural University of Athens. She has taught courses in Plant Breeding, Plant Genetic Resources and Experimental Design. She has utilized molecular tools in the assessment of diversity of crops and in the development of molecular diagnostics for cultivar identification, and worked on characterization and evaluation of Vicia faba, tomato, durum wheat and other crop collections. Her research experience includes the assessment of genetic inter- and intra-accession diversity using morphological/agronomical traits and molecular markers and the evaluation and exploitation of the performance of crop landraces under low input agriculture and on farm conservation. Currently she is working on collection, characterization, evaluation, conservation of plant genetic resources, mainly crop landraces and crop wild relatives. She has been participating in research projects funded by EU and national funds. She has coordinated and/or participated in national projects on plant genetic resources. She has many publications that have received many citations. She has participated in many national and international committees and working groups on issues of plant genetic resources. She has served as President of the Greek Scientific Society of Plant Breeding during 2008-2010.
Invited Speakers
Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics & Plant Breeding, Department of Agriculture, University of Patras, Greece
Vasileios Papasotiropoulos is Professor of Genetics – Plant Breeding at the Department of Agricultural Sciences in University of Patras, Greece. His research interests focus on the study of genetic and phenotypic diversity of aromatic and medicinal plants (MAPS) and horticultural crops including traditional cultivars. His goal is to investigate the relationship between genotypic and phenotypic diversity, and the chemical composition of plants and to identify genetic markers linked to the concentration of important compounds of the secondary metabolism. Recently he is involved in the study of genes controlling aroma and flavor in strawberry and other berries, aiming to identify superior genotypes for cultivation and breeding. Currently he is serving as Vice-president of Patras Science Park, participating also in the Board of Directors of Aroma Innovation Hub, aiming to promote research and innovation in MAPs. He is a member of the Hellenic Scientific Society of Plant Genetics and Breeding (HSSPGB) and the European Association for Research on Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA).
Institute for Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
Jaime Prohens is a Professor at the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain. His primary areas of study are Solanum, Botany, Melongena, Germplasm and Horticulture. His Solanum research is multidisciplinary, relying on both Lycopene, Crop, Domestication, Herbarium and Solanaceae. The various areas that Jaime Prohens examines in his Botany study include Tomato mosaic virus, Inoculation and Introgression. In his study, which falls under the umbrella issue of Melongena, Solamargine and Glycoalkaloid is strongly linked to Solanum macrocarpon. His Germplasm research is multidisciplinary, incorporating perspectives in Cultivar, Genetic diversity, Biotechnology, Genomics and Plant breeding. His Horticulture study integrates concerns from other disciplines, such as Plant virus and Dry matter.
Webinar Content
Program
|
Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CET |
|
Chair Prof. Dr. Penelope Bebeli Chair Introduction |
9:00 - 9:10 am |
|
Prof. Dr. Vasileios Papasotiropoulo Exploitation of Medicinal Plants; Opportunities and Challenges for Breeding |
9:10 - 9:30 am |
|
Prof. Dr. Jaime Prohens Introgression From Crop Wild Relatives for Broadening the Genetic Base of Crops and Adaptation to Climate Change |
9:30 - 9:50 am |
|
Prof. Dr. Penelope Bebeli The Multiple Role of Crop Landraces |
9:50 – 10:10 am |
|
Q&A |
10:10 - 10:25 am |
|
Closing of Webinar Chair Prof. Dr. Penelope Bebeli |
10:25 - 10:30 am |
Relevant SI
Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Penelope Bebeli, Prof. Dr. Vasileios Papasotiropoulos & Prof. Dr. Jaime Prohens
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2022
Sponsors and Partners
Organizers
