CENTRO DE RECURSOS NATURALES RENOVABLES DE LA ZONA SEMIÁRIDA

CONICET - UNS


CROP WILD RELATIONS

Director: Dr. Alejandro Presotto
Independent Researcher, CONICET
Titular Professor. Department of Agronomy, UNS.
Email:

CV


Growing global food demand, coupled with climate change and the prevalence of drought conditions and high temperatures, challenges and threatens agricultural production worldwide. Consequently, it is imperative to establish an efficient system for the protection of the agricultural system and plant genetic resources. To achieve this, generating comprehensive knowledge regarding the biology, ecology, and variability of crop wild relatives (CWR), landraces, and ancestral species is essential.

Our research group studies the role of crop-wild hybridization on weed evolution in Argentina, as well as its persistence in environments lacking selection pressure, specifically within the following crop-wild complexes: sunflower–wild sunflower, rice–weedy rice, and B. napus–B. rapa. Furthermore, our group explores the specific variability of naturalized populations to heat and drought stress tolerance, aiming to obtain genetic resources indispensable for crop improvement. Finally, our group is furthering the analysis of genetic and phenotypic variability in ancestral wheat species adapted to semi-arid conditions as a strategy to broaden the genetic base for breeding programs.

Members of this research group have spent over 15 years studying naturalized populations related to crops, utilizing morphology, molecular markers, cytogenetics, and, more recently, genomics as investigative tools.

Research lines


  • Agroecological basis of crop-related weed evolution: Oilseed rape–B. rapa, sunflower–wild sunflower, and rice–weedy rice complexes.

  • Identification of traits of interest and their molecular basis in wild and domesticated species (modern cultivars, landraces, and ancestral species) for the improvement of sunflower, wheat, and fodder radish crops.


Recent publications

  • Vercellino R., Fanna I., Mortarini M., Pérez Polo A., Ureta S., Fernández P., Pandolfo C., Presotto A. 2025. Radiation and photothermal coefficient as major determinants of grain yield and oil content in sunflower under different sowing dates. International Journal of Plant Production 19: 83-97. 
  • Hernández F., Vercellino R., Todesco M., Bercovich N., Alvarez D., Brunet J., Presotto A., Rieseberg L. 2024. Admixture with cultivated sunflower likely facilitated establishment and spread of wild sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in Argentina. Molecular Ecology 33: e17560. 
  • Presotto A., Hernández F., Vercellino R., Kruger R., Fontana M., Ureta S., Crepy M., Auge G., Caicedo A. 2024. Introgression from local cultivars is a driver of agricultural adaptation in Argentinian weedy rice. Molecular Ecology 33: e17368. 
  • Tillería S., Pandolfo C., Presotto A., Ureta S. 2023. No fitness cost in Brassica rapa L. (wild turnip) populations associated with transgenic glyphosate and non-transgenic AHAS-inhibiting herbicides resistance. Crop Protection 177: 106527. 
  • Vercellino R., Hernández F., Presotto A. 2023. The role of intraspecific crop-weed hybridization in the evolution of weediness and invasiveness: cultivated and weedy radish (Raphanus sativus L.) as a case study. American Journal of Botany 110: e16217. 
  • Mabry M.E., Bagavathiannan M.V., Bullock J.M,, Wang H., Caicedo A.L., Dabney C.J., Drummond E.B.M, Frawley E., Gressel J., Husband B.C., Lawton-Rauh A., Maggioni L., Olsen K.M., Pandolfo C., Pires J.C., Pisias M.T., Razifard H., Soltis D.E., Soltis P.S., Tillería S., Ureta S., Warschefsky E., McAlvay A.C. 2023. Building a feral future: Open questions in crop ferality. Plants, People, Planet 5: 635-649.

Funding

  • PGI 24/A270 “La feralidad como mecanismo de aparición de malezas invasoras: origen y dispersión”. IR: Alejandro Presotto. 2023-2026.
  • PICT 2019-00581 “Detrás del origen de las malezas: complejos arroz y colza como casos de estudio” IR: Alejandro Presotto.
  • PICT 2019-00722 “Bases moleculares de la tolerancia a estrés térmico en girasol cultivado” IR: Fernando Hernández.

  • PGI 24/A259 “Evaluación de recursos genéticos y biodiversidad, la base para un mejoramiento sustentable” IR: Soledad Ureta.


National and International Collaborations

Gene flow and evolution of weediness in crop wild relatives:

Pre-breeding for abiotic stress tolerance:

  • Verónica Lía, Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular-INTA, Argentina
  • Jennifer Mandel, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, USA.
  • John Burke, Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, USA.http://www.theburkelab.org
  • Paula Fernández, Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular-INTA, Argentina
  • Sebastián Moschen, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Famaillá-INTA, Argentina


Group Members:

Dr. Soledad Ureta
Assistant Researcher, CERZOS
Associate Professor,
Department of Agronomy, UNS
Email: 


Dr. Claudio Pandolfo
Adjunct Professor,
Department of Agronomy, UNS
Email: 



Dr. Boris Vercellino
Assistant Researcher, CONICET
Adjunct Professor, Department of Agronomy, UNS
Email: 


Dr. Fernando Hernández
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia
Email: 

Agricultural Eng. Eugenia Mendoza
Doctoral Fellow, CONICET
Email: 


Biologist Denise Simian
Doctoral Fellow, CONICET
Email: 


Agricultural Eng. Sofía Tillería
Doctoral Fellow, CONICET
Teaching Assistant. Departmento of Agronomy, UNS
Email: 

Agricultural Eng. Ignacio Fanna
Teaching Assistant. Department of Agronomy, UNS
Email: 

Mg. Paola Alejandra Fernández
Teaching Assitant. Department of Agronomy, UNS.
Email: 

Ing. Agr. Ignacio Fanna

Agricultural Eng., Natalia Belén Suárez
Doctoral Fellow, CIC PBA.
Teaching Assitant. Department of Agronomy, UNS.
Email: 


Ing. Agr. Ignacio Fanna