PRIN 2022 - MAGICOAT

MAGICOAT focuses on improving drought tolerance in maize by investigating natural genetic variation in traits related to water use efficiency, such as leaf permeability, cuticular wax biosynthesis, and stomatal density. These traits play a key role in regulating transpiration and plant responses under water stress. The project utilizes the multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) maize population to perform high-resolution phenotyping to assess cuticle leaf-mediated permeability and handled microscope for the detection and quantification of stomatal traits from leaf images. These phenotypic data are integrated with high-density genotyping and existing founder genome sequences to perform quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping. Through this approach, MAGICOAT aims to characterize and identify candidate genes involved in the drought tolerance, providing a basis for future breeding strategies to develop enhanced climate resilience varieties.

ENTE PROMOTORE: Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca
NOME PROGETTO: Exploiting Maize Advanced GenetIc resources to reduce Cuticular and stOmatal trAnspiration for drought Tolerance (MAGICOAT)
PERIODO E DURATA: 12/10/2023 – 11/10/2025 – 24 mesi
FINANZIAMENTO: €118.545,00
COORDINATORI: SSSA – prof. Matteo Dell’Acqua