Department of Plant Biology and Agro-environmental and Animal Biotechnology

Section
Genetics and Breeding
Italian

History	Facilities	Publications
Faculty / Staff	Research
Useful links	Ph.D Courses

History

The history of the Section Genetics & Breeding of the Department of Plant Biology and Agroenvironmental Biotechnology is tied to the history of the teaching of Genetics within the curricula offered at the Faculty of Agriculture. In 1925/26 Genetics was introduced as a minor part within the course of Agricultural ecology; in 1930/31 it became a full course; in 1959/60, when the Institute of Plant Breeding was created, research and teaching have started to interact and grow together.

The Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Perugia has always attributed great importance to genetics, and it was the first in Italy to offer a position of Professor of Plant Breeding (1959) and of Agricultural Genetics (1975). Later, the courses of Genetics of seed production (1980), Crop genetic resources (1980) and, more recently, Plant Cytogenetics (1992) were established.
The first Director was Prof. Adelmo Panella (1959-1981), followed by Prof. Franco Lorenzetti (1982-1994), and by Prof. Mario Falcinelli (1995-1999), currently Department Head. Starting from January 1, 2000, the Institute became the Section Genetics & Breeding of the Department of Plant Biology and Agroenvironmental Biotechnology.

At the time of its foundation the main research topic was breeding of grasses and leguminous fodder crops. During the seventies attention was devoted to the rehabilitation of marginal lands through the use of varieties derived from local ecotypes and improved for seed yield. In the eighties the main topics were about the genetic resources and mutants of the reproductive system in plants, while in the nineties the studies of biodiversity and biotechnology were expanded.

Facilities

Cytogenetics lab
Genetic Biotechnology lab
Protein lab
Library, 980 volumes, particularly on genetics and breeding
Computer lab
Greenhouse, 300 sqm
Experimental field, 12 ha

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