Whole-genome resequencing of tomato to identify genes associated with durable resistance to bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum)

Start date: 1 Aug 2018
End date: 31 July 2019

Budget: NTD 1,100,000

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is widely grown and one of the most economically important vegetable crops worldwide.  Bacterial wilt (BW, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum) is one of the most devastating tomato diseases worldwide, especially in the tropics and subtropics. Host resistance is the most effective management strategy against the disease.

The objective of this project is to identify additional genomic regions boosting resistance to a phylotype II isolate of bacterial wilt. We will accomplish this by re-sequencing the genomes of highly resistant and highly susceptible tomato lines including H7996 homozygous for Bwr-6 and Bwr-12 QTLs and by thoroughly phenotyping the complete set of inbred lines for resistance to phylotype II isolate during the hot summer season to develop widely applicable molecular markers for increased efficiency in resistance breeding.