HARNESSTOM has consolidated the alliances with previous and current EU projects on genetic resources and established since the beginning of the project the strategy for transferring the information from those projects to the HARNESSTOM DB. The HARNESSTOM DB has been established (deliverable) and first datasets uploaded. A HARNESSTOM website (
http://harnesstom.eu(si apre in una nuova finestra)) has been generated and is operative for communication, visibility and project outreach.
HARNESSTOM has contributed to consolidate panels of plant materials with a wealth of genetic and phenotypic information. Biotechnological tools and physical techniques were developed to speed-up breeding. We started to implement tools to increase efficiency of breeding.
HARNESSTOM have focused in selecting materials, and conducting surveying and prebreeeding activities towards durable resistance to C. fulvum, and identifying some resources of resistance to the emerging viruses, including ToBRFV, stuydying the enetics basis for the new resistances and generating introgression lines from resistant wild accessions. A strategy to combine tolerant non-elite genetic variability able to increase tolerance against climate change related stresses with elite germplasm from HARNESSSTOM companies have started. Sources of abiotic stress tolerance alleles identified by academic partners have been shared with industrial and academic partners to evaluate them in different conditions and to start their introduction into elite germplasm. QTLs have been validated, also fine mapping approaches have been implemented to increase the mapping resolution of some major effect and epistatic QTLs identified to increase tomato yield in different growing conditions. The identification of the most interesting resources for fruit quality breeding has been conducted. Marker assisted selection breeding have been initiated to improve elite material for specific targets related to flavour traits (sugars, acids, volatiles). In addition, simultaneously improving the fruit’s health-related characteristics and shelf-life is being addressed by generating new populations.
HARNESSTOM focused in developing innovative strategies for involving farmers, consumers, influential chefs and academics in pre-breeding and breeding activities Online surveys, designed for definition of agronomic and sensory ideotypes were produced, translated into seven languages and disseminated through several websites and local newspapers. More than 3,000 citizen had participated and Informationcollected, A first repository of promising genotypes has been established and seeds distributed to farmers. In parallel different plant breeding programs are being developed departing from prestigious landraces.
