Earth and Environment graduate seminar

Title: Sugarcane genomics and pre-breeding for Florida, by Dr. Raja Ragupathy, Visiting Research Assistant Professor, FIU Department of Earth and Environment Abstract Florida sugarcane industry contributes billions of dollars to the U.S. economy. Advances in genomics and pre-breeding are helping to develop high-yielding, pest resistant varieties that support sustainable production and reduced pesticide use. In collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service Sugarcane Field Station Canal Point, Florida, Raja Ragupathy’s research work focuses on developing novel high-throughput genotyping methods from classical Simple Sequence Repeat (SSRs) to cutting edge long read sequencing-based genotyping in a complex polyploid sugarcane genome. These innovative genomics-based strategies have significant impact on the curation of sugarcane germplasm and parental clones, assembling core collections, and their utilization to broaden the genetic variability of the sugarcane cultivars.