Horticulture Biotechnology Lab

The research projects carried out at the Horticulture Biotechnology Lab are related to the development of biotechnological tools for in vitro Citrus breeding. The production of Citrus somatic hybrids by protoplast chemical fusion has been conducted in cooperation with the Plant Biotechnology Lab at CENA (Dr. Beatriz Madalena Januzzi Mendes) since 1996. Investigations on genetic transformation of Citrus rootstocks and scions, started in 1999, were conducted for the optimization of protocols. Currently, the introduction of horticultural important genes and initial transgenic plant evaluation have been carried out.