Dr. Lee's Laboratory 

Overview 

Our lab is at the forefront of cutting-edge advancements in genomics and molecular breeding techniques in strawberry research.

This genomics-enabled breeding approach has the potential to accelerate the development of superior strawberry varieties by enabling the targeted selection and breeding of strawberries with desirable traits, including enhanced flavor, superior fruit quality, and heightened disease resistance.

The main research areas are functional genomics, gene discovery, marker-assisted breeding, mutational breeding, and CRISPR gene editing. 

What we do

Our research program is at the forefront of strawberry molecular genetics and genomics, utilizing advanced tools to revolutionize strawberry breeding and research.

• Enhancing strawberry varieties for superior fruit quality and disease resistance
• Employing high-throughput marker-assisted selection programs and next-generation sequencing data analysis to identify candidate alleles for desired traits
• Conducting genome sequencing and assembly of octoploid strawberry
• Developing genomics-assisted breeding tools to expedite gene cloning and marker development
• Advancing the development of superior strawberry cultivars, ultimately benefiting strawberry industryand research communities

Impact

In this lab, we specialize in enhancing these UF/IFAS strawberry cultivars by integrating advanced molecular breeding technologies with traditional methods. Leveraging molecular breeding techniques accelerate the cultivar development process, which can enable the development of new varieties with traits essential for both growers and consumers.

Through extension efforts, our research findings are shared with growers and stakeholders at local, regional, and national meetings. Ultimately, our work is integral to sustaining and elevating the Florida strawberry industry, as it provides growers with enhanced cultivars that align with market demands and consumer preferences.

Lab Accomplishments

1. Development of Strawberry DNA testing handbook
2. Construction of telomere-to-telomere quality haplotype-phased reference genome of octoploid cultivated strawberry ‘Florida Brilliance’
3. Establishment of the high-throughput marker-assisted seedling selection in strawberry
4. Development of highly efficient transient gene expression methods in strawberry
5. Optimization of strawberry transformation and regeneration
6. Establishment of CRISPR gene editing techniques in octoploid strawberry

• MS Students' Work

  Links coming soon! 

• PhD Students' Work

  Links coming soon!

• Dr. Lee's Work
  • Extension Publications 
  • Research Publications