The Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation (AGROSAVIA), founded in 1993, focuses on agricultural research, environmental sustainability, and food security. With 23 locations, including 13 research centers, AGROSAVIA operates across Colombia’s five natural regions. It employs over 380 researchers and 360 support staff. AGROSAVIA aims to generate scientific knowledge and agricultural technological development through scientific research, technology adaptation, transfer, and advice.
AGROSAVIA’s role includes (i) phenotypic and genotypic characterization of potato and tomato resistance against Cs/Rs, (ii) identification of key predisposing physical and biological factors that underlie the susceptibility of tomato/potato crops to Cs/Rs and (iii) validation of early detection and bio-control solutions against Ralstonia solanacearum under growth chamber and greenhouse conditions for tomato crop.
“AGROSAVIA sustainably transform the Colombian agricultural sector with the power of knowledge to improve the lives of producers and consumers.”
AGROSAVIA Team
Mauricio Soto-Suárez
Team Leader
Associate Researcher, PhD in Biology
“I mainly study the molecular mechanisms that control the interaction between pathogenic bacteria, fungi, oomycetes and plants developing sustainable strategies to prevent and fight invasions in the field. I will lead WP2 and all project activities developed by AGROSAVIA.”
Jaime A. Osorio
Team member
MSc Agricultural Sciences
“My contribution to the project will be discovering of genes associated with resistance to Ralstonia solanacearum through molecular mapping and QTL analysis using the genome wide association study (GWAS) technique to help in the future to accelerating genetic gain for key traits in crop breeding programs.”
Deisy L. Toloza
Team member
MSc Microbiology
“My contribution to the project will primarily focus on identifying candidate genes associated with resistance to Ralstonia solanacearum in potato accessions from AGROSAVIA’s Germplasm Bank, with the aim of subsequently conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS).”
Karen L. Ballestas
Team member
MSc candidate in Biotechnology
“My participation in the project will be associated to validation tests against Ralstonia solanacearum (Rs) under real conditions in potato and tomato crops. Additionally, I will support the determination of genetic diversity and virulence factors for against Rs.“
Andrea del Pilar Villarreal
Team member
MSc crop physiology
“I will study predisposing physical and biological factors that underlie the susceptibility of tomato to Ralstonia solanacearum and also performing physiological and biochemical analysis of plant interactions with pathogens in tomato and potato. “
Paola Zuluaga
Team member
Associate Researcher,
PhD Plant Pathology and
Plant Microbe Interactions
“I will contribute to the understanding of Ralstonia solanacearum-potato interactions, and the selection of promising accessions resistant against this pathogen, evaluating the Colombian Central Collection of potatoes using GWAS.”
Lorena Dávila
Team member
Assistant Researcher, MSc Plant Pathology and Microbiology
“I will contribute to the evaluation and selection of promising accessions resistant against Ralstonia solanacaerum, evaluating the Colombian Central Collection of potatoes using GWAS.”
Edwin Rodriguez
Team member
Master Researcher, MSc Plant Pathology and Agronomy
“I have worked on the characterization and evaluation of sources of resistance to vascular diseases in Solanaceae and Musaceae plants. In POMATO, I will contribute to the evaluation of the Central Colombian Collection of potato against Ralstonia solanacearum using GWAS.“
Paola Delgadillo
Team member
MSc genetics and plant breeding
“I will work on the identification of potential resistance genes/regions (RGs) against Ralstonia solanacearum through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in potato.”
Diana Burbano David
Team member
Biologist
“I will participate in the diagnosis and molecular characterization of causal agents of diseases in tomato and potato, as well as in the study of plant-pathogen interaction.”
Roxana Yockteng
Team member
Associate PhD Researcher,
PhD Plant Evolution and Ecology
“I contribute to the understanding of Ralstonia solanacearum-potato interactions by evaluating the Colombian Central Collection of potatoes using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify genes involved in pathogen resistance. Additionally, I am involved in GWAS analyses of the evaluated tomato varieties.”
Tatiana A. Rodríguez
Team member
MSc Microbiology
“I will support in the determination of genetic diversity and virulence factors for Cs/Rs (WP2), and field trials to validate early detection and biocontrol solutions against Ralstonia solanacearum under commercial conditions in tomato and potato crops (WP5).”
Diego A. Delgadillo
Team member
Bioinformatics and Machine Learning researcher
“My work focuses on designing and implementing bioinformatics pipelines, automating large-scale data processing, and applying AI/ML techniques to extract biologically meaningful insights from multi-omics datasets.”
Lorena Carmona
Team member
MSc Plant Physiology
“I will participate in the understanding of Ralstonia solanacearum-tomato interactions by evaluating germplasm bank using a GWAS approach, and in the diagnosis and molecular characterization of Rs isolates.”
Luisa F. Izquierdo-García
Team member
Agricultural Sciences
“I will conduct field trials against Ralstonia solanacearum infection under commercial conditions in tomato and potato crops. This involves testing the efficacy of biocontrol solutions, ensuring they perform effectively in practical scenarios considering local and agronomic factors.”
Magda Gómez
Team member
MSc Agricultural Sciences
“I will participate in the understanding of Ralstonia solanacearum-tomato interactions by evaluating the germplasm bank using a GWAS approach and also conducting field trials against Ralstonia solanacearum infection under commercial conditions in tomato and potato crops.”
Mónica Betancourt
Team member
Senior PhD Researcher
“I will work on phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Ralstonia solanacearum isolates associated with tomato crops and the identification of new sources of resistance using tomato germplasm bank.”
Jaime Aguirre
Team member
Agricultural Microbiologist
“I will be involved in determining genetic diversity and virulence factors for Ralstonia solanacearum and the identification of new sources of resistance using tomato germplasm bank.”
Team member
MSc Rural development
“I will participate in field trials against Ralstonia solanacearum infection under commercial conditions in tomato and potato crops and dissemination, communication, exploitation and multi-actor engagement activities.”
Team member
Environmental Engineer
“I will work on determining physical and biological predisposing factors that underline the susceptibility of tomato to Ralstonia solanacearum and the validation of early detection and bio-control solutions in potato.”
Led by the University of Burgos, POMATO brings together 16 partners from top universities, research organizations, SMEs, agrochemical companies, and farmers. Our international partners from regions severely affected by Cs/Rs, like Colombia and Ecuador, ensure that we exchange best practices and adapt solutions to different farming environments.
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