HDT-Coffee - Unraveling Timor hybrid resistance to coffee rust by genomic approaches

Coffee is the most important agricultural product in international trade, with coffee leaf rust being the most economically impacting disease in the world. Portugal was instrumental in the preservation and dissemination of the natural sources of rust resistance found in a spontaneous hybrid called "Híbrido de Timor” (HDT), which was ultimately used during the production of most of the world-wide modern improved varieties. However, breakdown of rust resistance is emerging again, due to increased rust virulence associated to resistance genetic erosion during breeding. This project will apply the unprecedented power of next generation sequencing to generate an in depth characterization of coffee rust resistance. HDT-Coffee will deliver key tools for the smart management of coffee crop resistance-status and breeding programs towards improved rust resistance, thus avoiding massive antifungical treatments and lowering economical costs and environmental contamination. Upmost, HDT-Coffee should re-launch the central position of Portugal in the roadmap of coffee, as a provider of services and germplasm vital to the coffee industry.

Dates: 01 out 2018 – 30 set 2022
Total funding: 239 968,99 €
FEDER support: 169 867,13€
National Funding: 70 101,55€