Dr. Chetelat’s lab studies the reproductive barriers that limit hybridization between cultivated and wild tomato species. Their focus is on unilateral incompatibility, a prefertilization barrier, and they are cloning the underlying genes and exploring their relationship to self-incompatibility. They also study meiotic recombination in wide crosses and the role of genes in the DNA mismatch repair system. By understanding and overcoming these barriers, they can transfer the genomes of more distantly related Solanum species into cultivated tomato. These projects are synergistic with the C.M. Rick Tomato Genetics Resource Center, a genebank of tomato mutants, wild relatives and other genetic stocks.
Department: Plant Sciences
Research: Tomato Genetics Resource Center
Email: trchetelat@ucdavis.edu