Our Work
CTC begins with a concept that is translated into modified genetic material using a variety of technology including transformation, transgenic, cisgenic, and gene editing (CRISPR). It is then approved by regulatory agencies and screened for intellectual property. After clearing these agencies, plants are evaluated in the field, and if proven successful, they are commercialized.
The state-of-the-art technology is our best bet to beat HLB by developing resistant/tolerant plant material in addition to best management practices such as psyllid control, nutrition, antibiotics, trunk injections, and gibberellic acid treatments.
Innovative Framework
CTC uses an innovative framework that includes the following components:
- Computational pathology for identifying candidate genes for disease (HLB) resistance.
- Developing deployment models to maximize the lifespan of the trait.
- Vector construction and transformation to create high quality and regulatory friendly plants that are low risk for allergic reactions and toxicity.
- Optimization tunes gene expression to maximize gene impact on disease resistance without compromising desirable attributes of the cultivar.
- Field evaluation to provide the experimental design, analytics, and field testing infrastructure to inform decision making and bring transparency to the decision process.
- Human dimensions work to identify potential barriers to consumer adoption and deregulation.
- Creating educational and communication materials for the successful commercialization of the product.
Labs Researching Crop Transformation Across UF
Faculty from seven academic units housed at the UF/IFAS main campus in Gainesville and the Citrus Research and Education Center (C-REC), Lake Alfred, FL contribute to CTC. We work closely with the Applied AI Agriculture Center at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center and the Protein Knowledge Integration team to rapidly advance plant breeding.
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Academic Programs in Plant Breeding
UF offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and post-doctoral opportunities in plant breeding where students have access to world class faculty experts and facilities.
The University of Florida is a rapidly ascending public university. In 2023 UF was ranked as the top public university by the Wall Street Journal and #6 by US News and World Report for a public research one (R1) university. IFAS is a top agricultural and natural resources college and was awarded the most public federal funding for agricultural and natural resources research in the US according to the National Science Foundation. Because of our leading faculty research programs, the B.S. in Plant Science and the Ph.D. plant breed program has been rated as #1 in the nation.