Dr. Shai Torgeman is a Vaadia-BARD postdoctoral fellow at Dr. Mitchell Feldman’s lab in UC Davis.
What is the main focus of your postdoc work?
“As a postdoctoral scholar at Dr. Mitchell Feldmann’s lab, my project involves working with the genetic collection of the UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program to assess genetic gains in fruit quality, disease resistance, and yield performance. Additionally, I will leverage the research group’s existing infrastructure to study patterns of disease resistance genes, as well as inbreeding and outbreeding depression in strawberries.”
What got you interested in genetics and plant breeding?
“Throughout my bachelor’s degree in plant sciences, I focused on courses related to plant breeding, genetics, molecular biology, and statistics. During this period, I had the valuable opportunity to work as a research assistant in the laboratory of Prof. Yuval Eshad at the Weizmann Institute. Under Prof. Yuval’s guidance, I gained extensive knowledge about plants, genetics, and phenotypic characterization of tomato plants. During my Ph.D. under the mentorship of Prof. Dani Zamir in Genetics & Breeding, I aimed to dissect epistasis using a densely genotyped population of 1400 backcross-inbred lines (BILs) between a modern processing tomato inbred (Solanum lycopersicum) and the Lost Accession (LA5240) of a distant, green fruited, drought-tolerant wild species, Solanum pennellii.
A notable finding was a single epistatic interaction involving S. pennellii QTL on chromosomes 1 and 7, which independently did not affect yield but increased fruit yield by 20-50% in the double introgression hybrid grown in irrigated and dry fields over a period of four years. Our work demonstrates the power of large, interspecific controlled population development to uncover hidden QTL phenotypes and how rare epistatic interactions can improve crop productivity via heterosis (Torgeman & Zamir, 2023). In addition to my Ph.D. projects in the past 5 years, I have worked in collaboration with Dani’s seed company – Newbreed seeds Ltd. (https://newbreed-seeds.com/), which was established from the unprecedented genetic germplasm that includes over 10,000 tomato accessions from Dani’s lab. I was involved in two key areas: 1) Marker-assisted selection in tomato breeding, overseeing the design and execution of studies aimed at unraveling the inheritance of both qualitative and quantitative traits. 2) QTL analysis of biparental populations and GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Study) aimed at identifying regions in the tomato genome associated with improved yield and quality of the fruit. Also, for the last 3 years, I have been a Processing Tomato breeder. As a part of my role, I am responsible for parental lines and hybrids’ product development and testing across Israel, with a major focus on the California market.”
What are your plans after your postdoctoral research?
“Joining the research group at Feldmann’s lab will afford me the opportunity to expand my knowledge in genomics-assisted breeding, gaining fresh experiences and adopting cutting-edge approaches in genomics, statistics, breeding, phenotyping, and modeling.
I believe that the integration of my existing research knowledge with the new skills acquired during my postdoctoral training will significantly enhance my capability to lead innovative research in breeding programs in Israel. My intention is to share this acquired knowledge to contribute to the advancement of genomics-assisted breeding and genetics research in Israel.”
What tip would you give someone beginning their in postdoctoral research?
“Agriculture research is deeply tied to practical applications, so aligning your research with industry needs can increase the impact of your work. This could mean focusing on improving disease resistance, yield stability, climate resilience, or nutritional content of crops. Understanding market demands and the challenges faced by farmers can make your research more relevant and valuable.”