Research Interests:

• Identifying and incorporating resistance to two fungal diseases of blueberry, mummy berry (Monilinia vacinii-corymbosi) and anthracnose fruit-rot (Colletotrichum acutatum).
• Developing screening procedures to allow for early evaluation of resistance, mechanisms of resistance, and studies of inheritance in Blueberry
• The breeding program has ongoing studies of germplasm introgression, utilizing V. ashei, V. constablaei, and V. darrowi, and studies of fruit quality characteristics focused on organic acid composition and firmness.
• The USDA blueberry breeding program co-operates with programs in seven states, and distributes materials of both highbush and rabbiteye blueberries. The program supports continued evaluation and variety release with state co-operators, and has released four cultivars in the last four years.
• Constructing a genetic map of blueberry using molecular markers.
• Understanding genetic control of chilling requirement and cold hardiness in blueberry.
• Identifying DNA markers linked to genes controlling chilling requirement, cold hardiness, and other traits of horticultural significance.
• DNA fingerprinting of blueberry cultivars.
• Isolating cold responsive genes from blueberry
• Developing EST markers for blueberry

Research Goals

• Isolating and characterizing genes encoding the three dehydrin-like proteins and other cold-responsive proteins from blueberry
• Testing hypotheses that these proteins play a causal role in determining chilling requirement or level of cold hardiness.
• Developing and utilizing tissue culture and gene transfer techniques for the improvement of blueberry
• Improving transformation and shoot regeneration frequencies in blueberry.

The scientists who work with Blueberries are:

• Dr. Mark Ehlenfeldt
• Dr. Jeanine Rowland
• Dr. Freddi Hammerschlag
• Dr. Jim Polashock
• Dr. Shiow Wang