By Patrick Sherry
Assistant Professor at the Horticultural Sciences department, Dr. Marcio Resende leads the Sweet Corn Breeding and Genomics lab to characterize and understand the genetic mechanisms underlying traits relevant to sweet corn production, and to identify DNA variants that can be introduced into elite inbred lines to improve these traits. The output of Dr. Resende’s research translates into the plant breeding program aimed at research mostly at creating sweet core varieties adapted to Florida conditions.
“Sweet corn is an important crop in Florida and the U.S.; it is usually the third most consumed vegetable [in the county].,” said Resende. “Our end goal here is to develop varieties that can help growers by reducing the cost of production, increasing yield, and helping consumers with improved flavor, texture, and/or shelf-life.”
One of the research methods used in his lab to accomplish this goal is called genomic selection. Genomic selection consists of the process of creating statistical models to predict the phenotype of interest using information from the plant’s DNA. Another research method, gene mapping, involves the assembly of the sweet corn reference genome, which is used to help identify genes that are specifically associated with important sweet corn traits. All these methods complement a continuous process of field research, breeding, and experimentation to create a crop variety that has all the desired characteristics.
Understanding genetic variability offers the potential to create a crop that can be more flavorful, consume less water, tolerate higher temperatures, and is insect- and disease-resistant. This generally requires close collaboration with individuals in different fields such as plant pathologists, entomologists, post-harvest scientists, and more.
Dr. Resende lived part of his life on a farm, which is what initially brought him close to agriculture. He pursued his Ph.D. in Genetics and Genomics at UF, specifically focusing on the application of genomic selection to improve tree breeding. However, given the time it takes to grow, select, and breed trees, Dr. Resende shifted his focus to sweet corn, which has a faster growth cycle and is an annual crop. But overall, the field of genetics and plant breeding interests him because of how rewarding it is to integrate several disciplines to create a product that, if successful, will be used by growers and have a direct impact.
“Plant breeding is a fascinating field,” said Resende. “It's just amazing to see how well how artificial selection and genetics work; as you apply selection pressure towards a trait of interest, you go to the field, you select the phenotype that you want, you recombine them, and you actually see the product – see the varieties getting better. The research combines basic and applied sciences, and you get to see firsthand the outcomes of that research in the form of a plant variety.”
Besides plant research, one of the Sweet Corn Breeding and Genomics Lab and Dr. Resende’s largest priorities is to train students in plant breeding, quantitative genetics, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and genomics. The lab also has two mascots that support researchers and students throughout the process, a golden retriever named CRISPR and a schnauzer named Poly (short for polymerase).
“We need more plant breeders, especially women and underrepresented minorities. It is our mission, and it is extremely rewarding to see students develop as scientists, going on to apply the scientific method, develop their own hypothesis and research – that to me is just as motivating as the research itself.”