In this series, we introduce you to the people behind CropXR. Who are they, what do they do, and why are they passionate about their work for CropXR?
Name: Roel Musch
What is your CropXR role?
I will contribute to CropXR by sharing genetic resources and knowledge about chrysanthemum genetics.
Can you decribe this role in a nutshell?
I work as a bioinformatician at Deliflor Chrysanthemum. My objective is to develop new (genetic) markers for the breeding program. These genetic markers correspond to interesting phenotypes. I enjoy complicated genetics and the tools that are used to analyze these datasets. I work intensively together with universities to keep up with the latest developments. Besides my computer work, I am also involved with phenotyping experiments. Therefore, I work closely together with people from the greenhouse. Another aspect I like to work on is data visualization. Therefore, I publish R shiny applications (a tool to build interactive web applications that can execute R code on the backend) to visualize genetic or greenhouse data for breeders and other people in the company.
I hope we get a better understanding of thrips resistance
Why are you driven to contribute to the CropXR project?
I hope to collaborate with people to bring chrysanthemum breeding to a higher level. I would like to contribute with regard to my knowledge about (hexaploid) genetics.
What is the main challenge you face?
We want to develop resilient varieties that can survive in the greenhouse. The major problem chrysanthemum growers are facing today is thrips susceptibility. Developing new varieties that are thrip resistant is difficult. Correctly phenotyping thrips resistance can already be a challenge. I also hope that the CropXR project develops new tools that we can use to analyze genomic data, transcriptomic and proteomic data.
What do you personally hope to achieve within CropXR in the next (10) years?
I hope that we get a better understanding of the underlying genetics regarding thrips resistance. I also like to meet new people with similar interests.