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The Clemson University peach breeding program develops high quality peach cultivars adapted to South Carolina environment by addressing key challenges such as climate changes, consumer demands and producer needs. The program is combining disease resistance to bacterial spot and brown rot with large fruit of excellent quality by searching for variability, finding new sources of desired traits, and understanding how these traits are inherited. <\/strong><\/p>\n Traditional breeding approaches are combined with marker-assisted parental and seedling selection to provide efficient way of incorporating desired characters into newly developed peach cultivars that address industry needs and consumer expectations. <\/em>The South Carolina peach industry is the second largest producer of fresh market peaches in the United States, after California, with more than 7,000 ha under the peach production annually valued >$80M. <\/strong><\/p>\n Most of the cultivars grown in the Southeastern US are developed in breeding programs that differ in environmental conditions, emphasizing the need for new improved cultivars suited for our conditions. Since the programs\u2019 establishment in 2008 more than 450 crosses have been performed resulting in over 40,000 hybrids planted and evaluated in field. Less than ~2% of initial hybrid seedlings are selected and moved to the advanced selection level, and about 10 were clonally propagated and planted in 7 replicated trials across southeast. <\/strong><\/p>\n After 16 years of breeding, we are now approaching an exciting time in which our own selections with high quality fruit resistant to bacterial spot are released.<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Ksenija Gasic<\/strong>Phone: 864-656-3664<\/p>\n Email:\u00a0kgasic@clemson.edu<\/a><\/p>\n Web:\u00a0Faculty Bio Page<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Clemson University peach breeding program develops high quality peach cultivars adapted to South Carolina environment by addressing key challenges such as climate changes, consumer demands and producer needs. The program is combining disease resistance to bacterial spot and brown rot with large fruit of excellent quality by searching for variability, finding new sources of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3858,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-12","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3858"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":9,"date":"2021-06-10T14:09:27","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T14:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/?page_id=9"},"modified":"2025-08-21T19:42:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:42:43","slug":"past-lab-members","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/past-lab-members\/","title":{"rendered":"Past Lab Members"},"content":{"rendered":"\n Jennifer grew up in Greenwood, AR. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business and Economics at the University of Arkansas. After graduating Jennifer then went to work full time for Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center. While working full time for the Rice Breeding and Agronomy team she earned her Master’s degree in Agronomy from Mississippi State. In Fall 2020, Jennifer accepted the position with Dr. Gasic for the role as Project Manager on the Armillaria Root Rot USDA grant. Jennifer enjoys anything with family, and most of her spare time is devoted to her two boys, Lyndon and Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\nJohn Mark Lawton was raised in rural Cleveland, SC. He attended Clemson University and graduated with a Horticulture Degree in 2015. After a year of operating his own high intensity organic vegetable operation, he landed a job with Clemson University at the esteemed Musser Fruit Research Center in April of 2017. He assisted in all farm duties including nursery management, data collection and orchard upkeep and was the acting Food Safety Officer. He started working as the Laboratory\/Field Technician for Dr. Gasic\u2019s peach breeding program in the spring of 2019. He continued his education while working at Clemson and graduated with a Master\u2019s in Plant and Environmental Science in 2021. John Mark is an avid outdoorsman enjoying hiking, camping, kayaking, and backpacking. He also enjoys cooking and working in his garden, in his spare time.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asma Abdelghafar is originally from Benghazi, Libya. She procured her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Garyounis University in Libya with a focus on botany and plant physiology. After graduating from Garyounis University in 2009, she got a scholarship from her government to pursue a Doctorate degree. In 2012, she was accepted in to Clemson University’s Plant and Environmental Science PhD program. Asma’s research focused on enabling marker-assisted breeding for phytochemical compounds in peach. Asma received her doctorate degree in December of 2016. Asma rejoined the lab in 2023 to assist with the ARR project. Asma loves spending time with her family, and she enjoys teaching and helping others in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alejandro is originally from Magacela, Spain. He completed his bachelor\u2019s degree in Agricultural Engineering at University of Extremadura in 2013. After graduating, Alejandro earned a Master\u2019s degree in Food Quality and he began working as lab technician at Department of Animal Production and Food Quality of University of Extremadura. In 2015, Alejandro started his Ph.D. in CITA – University of Zaragoza, where research focused mainly on the genetics of relevant phenology related and fruit quality traits of sweet cherry, earning his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in Fall 2019. He joined the Gasic Lab as a postdoctoral research associate in 2021 where he worked in the Armillaria Root Rot USDA grant. He also enjoys any outdoor activities especially mountain biking and hiking. Sarah Miller completed her undergraduate degree in Secondary Science Education from Colorado State University in 2009 and went on to teach high school sciences in Greenville County School District for several years. Sarah then attended graduate school at Colorado State University where she researched morphological, physiological and biochemical responses of sorghum to drought stress and completed her Ph.D. in Bioagricultural Sciences in 2018. She joined the Gasic Lab as a postdoctoral research associate in 2018 where she is currently involved in developing short and long-term solutions to reduce the effects of Armillaria Root Rot, a soil-borne fungal root disease that is a primary cause of premature peach tree decline in South Carolina. In her free time, Sarah works on her own farm where she enjoys homesteading and horseback riding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wanfang Fu is from China. She finished her undergraduate study in Central South University of Forestry and Technology in Changsha, China, and earned her Bachelor of Forestry. In her undergraduate study, she mainly focused on the non-timber forest, which gave her an interest on fruit tree breeding. She followed Dr. Gasic in Clemson University to pursue a Master of Science (thesis) degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences. In her current study, she is working on disease resistance breeding for peaches on brown rot and bacterial spot. Wanfang enjoys her time both in the lab and farm. In her spare time, she likes going to the gym and watching movies. \n\nJared Weaver is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences with a minor in Legal Studies at Clemson University in 2022. During this time he cultivated an interest in plant biology and pathology. After graduation, Jared was accepted to the Gasic lab to pursue his Master of Science in Plant and Environmental Science. His research focuses on profiling the transcriptome and metabolome of Armillaria Root Rot fungi in peach. Specifically, he is looking to identify candidate effector genes used during infection and baseline metabolites produced by the fungi. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, playing golf and basketball, and reading.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ufuk grew up in Antalya, Turkey. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering at Selcuk University in Konya. In his bachelor’s degree, he was working on vegetable breeding, such as pepper, tomatoes, and pumpkins. He worked for Republic of Turkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Alata Horticultural Research Institute as an internship. He went to University of Delaware to take an English course with the support of Turkish Government. While completing his work, he was awarded by being an honor student. He achieved his Master\u2019s degree at Clemson University in Plant and Environmental Sciences. Ufuk enjoys kayaking, hiking and hanging around with friends in his spare time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Omer Atagul was born in Turkey on Oct 29, 1992. He graduated from Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University Department of Horticulture in 2016. After graduation, he worked as an agricultural engineer in a private company, while keeping in contact with his professors at the university. He encountered an opportunity for a scholarship program supported by the Ministry of National Education of Turkey. He always dreamed of studying abroad when he was a kid, and this scholarship opened the door for a master\u2019s degree in the United States of America, focusing on plant breeding. He started working under Dr. Gasic\u2019s peach breeding program in the spring of 2020. He is currently working towards his master\u2019s degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences studying QTLs mapping on heat requirements related to bloom time. After Clemson, he will return to Turkey and will work on behalf of TAGEM as a plant engineer. In addition to his work life, he is happily married and has a beautiful son. He loves spending time with his family, playing clarinet, reading historical documentaries. His favorite hobbies include hiking and cooking for friends and family. Gizem Demirel is from Turkey. She graduated from Ondokuz Mayis University at Department of Horticulture in Turkey. After her undergraduate studies she kept in contact with her professors and she carried out more research and projects with many fruit species. These studies and her experiences showed her the necessity of education on fruit breeding and motivated her to continue to a Masters education in the United States. With this purpose, Gizem received a scholarship given by Ministry of National Education in Turkey to do Master\u2019s in the United States. After finishing Master\u2019s, Gizem is going to work for Ministry of Agriculture in Turkey. She started her Master education on August 2019 in the Plant and Environmental Science at Clemson University under Dr. Gasic. Jake Taylor grew up in the small town of Arroyo Grande, CA. After graduating high school, Jake spent two years in the Lisbon metro area in Portugal doing service work with his church. Once that was finished, he got his Bachelor’s degree in Genetics and Biotechnology from BYU. While there, Jake worked in the Orphaned Crops Lab under Dr. Rick Jellen. He worked with quinoa strains which had hybridized with wild goosefoot in an effort to identify potentially useful traits for an international breeding effort. He traveled across the western states and Morocco planting field trials and collecting seed samples. As of August 2021, Jake is a Master’s student working under the Armillaria root rot grant and will likely stay for his PhD after defending his Master’s thesis. He is crazy about plants and loves spending time outdoors. He also has a growing collection of synthesizer keyboards which he enjoys playing. Mark Jasinski is originally from Traverse City, Michigan. Always interested in science, he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014. As an undergraduate, Mark worked on symbiotic relationships between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and rice crops. After graduation, he began working at a research farm in Deforest, WI to continue his experience in the agriculture industry. Mark was accepted into the Gasic program in 2016 to pursue his Master’s degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences. His research focuses on the biosynthesis of carotenoids and their effect on commercial peaches, along with the development of functional allele markers to aid in the breeding process. In his free time, Mark enjoys playing basketball and golf, is an avid reader and writer, and is entertained by tracking statistics on sports and other interests. Jonathan Windham is from the small town of Lamar, SC. He earned his undergraduate degree in Horticulture from Clemson University in 2013. Jonathan’s experience in the Gasic lab began in May of 2012 when he was hired as an intern and continued until graduation. In August of 2015, Jonathan was hired at the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Education Center (REC) in Florence, SC. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in the Plant and Environmental Sciences graduate program at Clemson University under Dr. Ksenija Gasic. In his free time, Jonathan breeds roses and is the curator of the Clemson University Rose Repository housed at the Pee Dee REC. Eva Marquez grew up in Hanahan, SC. She is currently working on a BS in Microbiology at Clemson University. She started working for Dr. Gasic’s peach breeding program in the fall of 2021. Eva enjoys learning new things, being outdoors, and playing the ukulele. Alex Frangiosa grew up in Philadelphia, PA and applied to Clemson for the Wildlife department. She is currently a Wildlife and Fisheries Biology major with a minor in Forest Resource Management, hoping to graduate in May 2018. After graduating she plans to attend veterinary school before becoming a wildlife veterinarian. Her wildlife biology classes emphasized plant and ecosystem studies, giving her a passion for plants. She has conducted invasive plant research with Dr. Don Hagan in the past, creating an interest in invasive plants. Alex joined the Gasic Lab to continue working on plant research (she also loves peaches, so this is a perfect fit!). Faculty Jennifer Corbin(Project Manager 2020-2024) Jennifer grew up in Greenwood, AR. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business and Economics at the University of Arkansas. After graduating Jennifer then went to work full time for Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center. While working full time for the Rice Breeding and Agronomy team […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3858,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[6817],"class_list":["post-9","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3858"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=9"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":8,"date":"2021-06-10T14:08:36","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T14:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2025-08-21T19:33:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:33:49","slug":"current-lab-members","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/current-lab-members\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Lab Members"},"content":{"rendered":"\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n \n\nTrey Burrell grew up in the town of Walhalla, SC. He completed his bachelor\u2019s degree in Environmental and Natural Resources at Clemson University in 2008. After graduating, Trey began working full time as a farm technician at Clemson\u2019s Musser fruit research station. Trey went back to school part time while working and earned a Master\u2019s degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences. In 2014, Trey accepted a new position working as Dr. Gasic\u2019s technician for the peach breeding program. Trey enjoys bow hunting, gardening, and fishing during his free time. He also is fascinated by extreme weather events and actively monitors weather modeling throughout the year.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Principal Investigator Ksenija Gasic Faculty Stephen Parris (Postdoctoral Research Associate 2024-Present) Michael Itam (Postdoctoral Research Associate 2023-Present) Michael Itam is a native of Ugep in southern Nigeria. He obtained a BSc and an MSc from Ebonyi State University with a focus on Plant Physiology. Upon graduation, he furthered his studies in Japan where he earned an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3858,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[6817],"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3858"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":7,"date":"2021-06-10T14:07:52","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T14:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/?page_id=7"},"modified":"2021-06-10T14:07:52","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T14:07:52","slug":"recent-publications","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/recent-publications\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Publications"},"content":{"rendered":" Fresnedo-Ram\u00edrez, J., Frett, T.J., Sandefur, P.J., Salgado-Rojas, A., Clark, J.R., Gasic, K., Peace, C.P., Anderson, N., Hartmann, T.P., Byrne, D.H., Bink, M.C.A.M, Van de Weg, E., Crisosto, C.H. and Gradziel, T.M. (2016) QTL mapping and breeding value estimation through pedigree-based analysis of fruit size and weight in four diverse peach breeding programs. Tree Genetics and Genomes http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1007\/s11295-016-0985-z.<\/p>\n Bielenberg, D., Raugh, B., Reighard, G., Fan, S., Wells, C., Gasic, K. and Okie, W. (2015) Genotyping by sequencing for SNP-based linkage map construction and QTL analysis of chilling requirement and bloom date in peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch]. PLoS ONE 10(10):e0139406.doi:10.1371\/journal.pone.0139406.<\/p>\n Glenn, M.D. and Gasic, K. (2015) Influence of within year treatments and between year environmental differences on peach leaf ash and carbon isotopic discrimination responses. Scientia Hort. 193:258-260.<\/p>\n Guajardo, V., Sol\u00eds, S., Sagredo, B., Gainza, F., Mu\u00f1oz, C., Gasic, K. and Hinrichsen, P. (2015) Construction of high density sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) linkage maps using microsatellite markers and SNPs detected by genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). PLoS ONE 10(5): e0127750. doi:10.1371\/journal.pone.0127750.<\/p>\n Fresnedo-Ram\u00edrez. J., Bink, M.C.A.M., van de Weg, E., Famula, T.R., Crisosto, C.H., Frett, T.J., Gasic, K., Peace, C.P. and Gradziel, T.M. (2015) QTL mapping of pomological traits in peach and related species breeding germplasm. Molecular Breeding 35:166 DOI 10.1007\/s11032-015-0357-7.<\/p>\n Gasic, K., Reighard, G., Windham, J. and Ognjanov, M. (2015) Relationship between fruit maturity at harvest and fruit quality in peach. Acta Horticulturae 1084:643-348<\/p>\n Gasic, K., Reighard, G.L.R, Okie, W.R., Clark, J., Gradziel, T., Byrne, D., Peace, C., Stegmeir, T., Rosyara, U. and Iezzoni, A. (2015) Bacterial spot resistance in peach: Functional allele distribution in breeding germplasm. Acta Horticulturae 1084:69-74.<\/p>\n Yue, C., Gallardo, K., Luby, J., Rhin, A., McFerson, J., McCracken, V., Gradziel, T., Gasic, K., Reighard, G., Clark, J. and Iezzoni, A. (2014) An evaluation of U.S. peach producers’ trait prioritization: Evidence from audience surveys. HortScience, 49(10):1309-1314.<\/p>\n Brown, A.F., Yousef, G., Guzman, I., Chebrolu, K., Perkins, P., Parker, M. and Gasic, K. (2014) Variation of Carotenoids and Polyphenolics in Peach (Prunus persica L.) and Implications on Breeding for Modified Phytochemical Profiles. JASHS 139:676:686.<\/p>\n Fret, T.J., Reighard, G.L.R, Okie, W.R. and Gasic K. (2014) Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci Associated with Blush in Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch]. Tree Genetics and Genomes 10:367-381<\/p>\n Barac, G., Ognjanov, V., Obreht D., Ljubojevic M., Bosnjakovic D., Pejic I. and Gasic, K. (2014) Genotypic and phenotypic diversity of cherry species collected in Serbia. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 32:92-108.<\/p>\n Yang, N., Reighard, G., Ritchie, D., Okie, W. and Gasic, K. (2013) Mapping quantitative trait loci associated with resistance to bacterial spot (Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni) in peach. Tree Genetics and Genomes 9:573-586 (DOI 10.1007\/s11295-012-0580-x).<\/p>\n Frett, T.J., Gasic K., Byrne, D., Clark, J., Crisosto, C. and Gradziel, T. (2012) Standardized phenotyping for peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch]. Journal of the American Pomological Society 66(4): 214-219.<\/p>\n Verde, I., Bassil, N., Scalabrin, S., Gilmore, B., Lawley, C.T., Gasic, K., Micheletti, D., Rosyara, U.R., Cattonaro, F., Vendramin, E., Main, D., Aramini, V., Blas, A.L., Mockler, T.C., Bryant, D.W., Wilhelm, L., Troggio, M., Sosinski, B., Aranzana, M.J., Ar\u00fas, P., Iezzoni, A., Morgante, M. and Peace, C. (2012) Development and evaluation of a 9K SNP array for peach by internationally coordinated SNP detection and validation in breeding germplasm. PLoS One 7(4): e35668. DOI:10.1371\/journal.pone.0035668.<\/p>\n Vimolmangkang, S., Gasic, K., Sori-Guerra, R.E., Rosales-Mendoza, S., Moreno-Fierros, L. and Korban, S.S. (2011) Expression of the nucleocapsid protein of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) in soybean seed yields an immunogenic antigenic protein. Planta DOI: 10.1007\/s00425-011-1523-8.<\/p>\n Sori-Guerra, R.E., Rosales-Mendoza, S., Gasic, K., Band, M., Wisniewski, M.E. and Korban S.S. (2011) Gene expression is highly regulated in early developing fruit of apple. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter DOI 10.1007\/s11105-011-0300-y.<\/p>\n Gasic, K., Gonzales, D.O., Thimmapuram, J., Malnoy, M., Gong, G., Han, Y., Vodkin, L.O., Liu, L., Aldwinckle, H.S., Carroll, N., Orvis, K., Goldsbrough, P., Clifton, S., Pape, D., Fulton, L., Martin, J., Theising, B., Wisnieweski ME., Fazio G., Feltus FA., and Korban, S.S. (2009) Comparative genomics analysis and functional annotation of a large expressed sequence tag collection of apple. Plant Genome 2:23-28.<\/p>\n Gasic, K., Han, Y., Kertbundit, S., Shulaev, V., Iezzoni, A.F., Stover, E.W., Bell, R.L., Wisniewski, M.E., and Korban S.S. (2009) EST-SSR transferability among Rosaceae species. Molecular Breeding 23:397-411.<\/p>\n Han, Y., Chagn\u00e9, D., Gasic, K., Rikkerink, E.H.A., Beever, J.E., Gardiner, S.E. and Korban, S.S. (2009) BAC-end sequence-based SNPs and bin mapping for rapid integration of physical and genetic maps in apple. Genomics 93:282-288.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fresnedo-Ram\u00edrez, J., Frett, T.J., Sandefur, P.J., Salgado-Rojas, A., Clark, J.R., Gasic, K., Peace, C.P., Anderson, N., Hartmann, T.P., Byrne, D.H., Bink, M.C.A.M, Van de Weg, E., Crisosto, C.H. and Gradziel, T.M. (2016) QTL mapping and breeding value estimation through pedigree-based analysis of fruit size and weight in four diverse peach breeding programs. Tree Genetics and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3858,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-7","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3858"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2,"date":"2021-06-10T13:54:54","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T13:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2023-12-08T13:26:57","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T13:26:57","slug":"active-projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/active-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Active Projects"},"content":{"rendered":" The Rosaceae crop family (including almond, apple, apricot, blackberry, peach, pear, plum, raspberry, rose, strawberry, sweet cherry, and tart cherry) provides vital contributions to human health and is economically significant in communities across the U.S. Industry stakeholders have given high priority to development of new cultivars that exhibit both disease resistance and superior horticultural quality to mitigate production, handling and market risks. Rosaceous crop breeders have responded to the need for genetic solutions by using resistance from wild and\/or unadapted germplasm, but few have achieved commercial success because of difficulties breeding cultivars with both excellent fruit quality and disease resistance. The Rosbreed project addresses this need through a national coordinated effort that will enable breeding programs of U.S. rosaceous crops to routinely apply modern genomics tools for efficient and effective delivery of cultivars with producer-required disease resistances and market-essential horticultural quality. Objectives are to: (1) develop donor parents with multiple alleles for disease resistance; (2) enrich breeding families with alleles for disease resistance and superior horticultural quality; (3) advance selections with alleles for superior horticultural quality and disease resistance with improved confidence; (4) increase routine use of DNA information in rosaceous crop breeding; and (5) engage industry stakeholders in project outcomes, evaluation, and adjustment. This Coordinated Agricultural Project(CAP) addresses SCRI Focus Area 1: Research in plant breeding, genetics, genomics and other methods to improve crop characteristics such as (a) product taste quality and appearance, and (d) disease resistance. Website can be found at:\u00a0https:\/\/www.rosbreed.org\/home<\/a><\/p>\n Armillaria root rot (ARR) disease is affecting forest and fruit tree crops throughout the U.S. and is the greatest threat to peach and cherry orchard sustainability in the southeastern U.S. and the Great Lakes Region, respectively. ARR has become a serious and widespread problem in the major tart and sweet cherry production regions of Michigan and is responsible for tens of millions of dollars in losses in historic peach production regions of Georgia and South Carolina. Continued tree losses from ARR on formerly highly productive orchard sites have reached uneconomical levels in the Southeast. Industry stakeholders, local economies and communities are in critical need of a long-term durable solution mitigating this threat. This project brings together multi-state teams to develop short term and long term solutions to practical ARR problems that cross State boundaries and addresses the needs of specialty crop growers in the areas of plant pests and disease, and research in Prunus rootstock breeding, genetics and genomics. The proposed project evaluates and promotes novel horticultural approaches such as above ground root collar excavation for immediate implementation and addresses long-term industry needs by enabling and accelerating the discovery and translation of natural (local and exotic) sources of ARR resistance directly into DNA and biochemical diagnostic tools that will lead to developing new rootstocks for long-term sustainability of the peach and cherry industries. Website can be found at:\u00a0https:\/\/www.clemson.edu\/cafls\/arr-solutions\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n Accounting for more than 50% of U.S. fruit, nut, and berry crop production, the economically important Rosaceae family provides valuable contributions to consumers\u2019 dietary choices and overall health. Increasing risk from pests, diseases, and climate change pose challenges to the competitiveness and sustainability of the U.S. Rosaceae industry. Meeting these challenges requires high-resolution dissection of traits and relating molecular diversity to functional variation for efficient development of new cultivars through marker-assisted breeding. Concomitant advances in high-throughput sequencing, phenotyping, and computational technologies, coupled with significant investment by government, universities, and industry, are generating petabytes of genomic, genetic, and breeding data for Rosaceae crops. Efficient utilization of such \u201cbig data\u201d requires analysis, integration, and visualization. Enhancing the resource-efficient Genome Database for Rosaceae will enable basic, translational, and applied Rosaceae research and be extendable to other specialty crops. Specific objectives are to: (1) collect, analyze, curate, and integrate large-scale Rosaceae genomics, genetics, and breeding data to facilitate cross-species data utilization and fundamental discovery; (2) provide data-mining resources for basic scientists and breeders to facilitate knowledge discovery and expedite development of cultivars; and (3) extend community outreach in genomics, genomics-assisted breeding, and crop management. This SREP addresses SCRI Focus Area 1: Research in plant breeding, genetics, and genomics to improve crop characteristics (70%), Focus Area 2: Efforts to identify and address threats from pests and diseases (20%), and Focus Area 3: Efforts to improve production efficiency, productivity, and profitability over the long term (10%). This project is submitted for consideration as a long-term project. Website can be found at:\u00a0https:\/\/www.rosaceae.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n Carotenoids provide fruit with attractive colors and aromas which play an important role in determining fruit marketability. Many carotenoids are also essential or beneficial nutrients in the human diet. Stone fruit species of the genus Prunus (e.g. peach, apricot, and plum) exhibit wide variation in carotenoid-based coloration and aromas, but our knowledge about the biochemical and molecular regulation of carotenoid accumulation in these species is extremely poor. Development of new stone fruit varieties that meet consumers’ expectations and satisfy producers and retailers requirements is a long process. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) could significantly reduce the lengthy and expensive process of breeding new high quality stone fruit varieties with improved carotenoid composition. However, to employ MAS we must first identify the markers associated with our traits of interest.<\/p>\n Large fruit size is highly attractive to consumers and commands a premium in the fresh peach market. Peach producers desire that new varieties have increased size alongside other evolving consumer preference traits such as appearance and aroma and cultural traits like disease resistance. Unfortunately, assessing fruit size in conventional breeding programs is inefficient in time and resources which reduces the speed at which new germplasm can be developed, assessed, and placed into the hands of growers. New tools are needed for the breeder that will allow selection of trees early in the breeding pipeline which possess size characteristics that are sought by South Carolina growers. Therefore, we will discover and develop cost effective, easy to use genetic markers for peach fruit size potential. Implementing marker-assisted selection for fruit size into our breeding program will increase the speed and cost-efficiency with which multiple desirable traits can be accumulated into new varieties for the growers of South Carolina. Rapid and efficient production of new varieties with increased fruit size will enhance profitability, competitiveness and economic sustainability of peach producers in South Carolina.<\/p>\n Temperate fruit crops need a period of rest, called dormancy, in order to fulfill bud break and blooming requirements. As we experience more extreme changes in our winter seasons, including warmer and milder winters, this poses a problem with cultivars with high chilling requirement (CR). This chilling requirement for peaches and nectarines has\u00a0traditionally been calculated with the Chill Hours model (CH), which simply counts every hour the air temperature is between 0-45 F. However, this model oversimplifies the tree\u2019s response to weather fluctuations and fails to adequately assess CR fulfillment, making it challenging to determine if the reported CH requirement for peach cultivars has been met. The Chill Portions (CP), or Dynamic model, offers a more precise assessment of chill accumulation, especially in warmer regions, and should be used for CR reporting and estimation in tree fruits. To support using CP in CR assessment, we developed a conversion chart between CH and CP for peach cultivars by analyzing CP accumulation for every 50 CH increments over thirty years (1989-2019) using weather data from three different weather stations across the Carolinas and Georgia (KRDU, KGSP, KABY).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n Rosbreed II The Rosaceae crop family (including almond, apple, apricot, blackberry, peach, pear, plum, raspberry, rose, strawberry, sweet cherry, and tart cherry) provides vital contributions to human health and is economically significant in communities across the U.S. Industry stakeholders have given high priority to development of new cultivars that exhibit both disease resistance and superior […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3858,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3858"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]Contact Information<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Faculty<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2024\/08\/Head-shot-square-300x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nJennifer Corbin(Project Manager 2020-2024)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2024\/08\/JM-HS-square-300x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nJohn Mark Lawton (Lab\/Field Technician 2019-2024)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2022\/08\/Asma.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nAsma Abdelghafar (Postdoctoral Research Associate 2023-2024)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2021\/06\/AC-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nAlejandro Calle (Postdoctoral Research Associate (2021-2023)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2022\/08\/miller-1-225x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSarah Miller (Postdoctoral Research Associate 2018-2019)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPhD. Students<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Seda Karako\u00e7 (2023-2025)<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2021\/09\/WAnfang-HS-squares-1-300x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nWanfang Fu ( 2015-2022)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMasters Students<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2024\/08\/544541E4-E0C1-4B78-96C8-B9992D2886DC-e1703015199645.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nJared Weaver (2022-2024)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2024\/08\/Ufuk.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nUfuk Caglar ( 2021-2023)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2022\/08\/omer-270x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nOmer Atagul ( 2020-2022)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2022\/08\/gizem-demirel-225x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nGizem Demirel ( 2019-2021)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2021\/09\/jake-profile-pic.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nJake Taylor (2021)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2022\/08\/jasinski-mark-200x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nMark Jasinski ( 2016-2019)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2022\/08\/Jonathan-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nJonathan Windham ( 2016-2018)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStudent Workers<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2021\/09\/headshot_eva-marquez-300x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nEva Marquez (2021-2022)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2022\/08\/Alex.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nAlex Frangiosa (2016-2018)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Principal Investigator<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2022\/08\/Dr.Gasic_.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n Ksenija Gasic <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFaculty<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2024\/08\/professional-headshot-2022-small.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nStephen Parris (Postdoctoral Research Associate 2024-Present)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2024\/08\/20231003_133458-1-183x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMichael Itam (Postdoctoral Research Associate 2023-Present)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
Michael Itam is a native of Ugep in southern Nigeria. He obtained a BSc and an MSc from Ebonyi State University with a focus on Plant Physiology. Upon graduation, he furthered his studies in Japan where he earned an MSc and a PhD in molecular breeding from Tottori University, with a focus on wheat breeding for abiotic stress tolerance. After his PhD, Michael worked in Japan for a brief period before joining Michigan State University as a postdoctoral researcher. He then joined the Gasic Lab as a postdoctoral researcher in 2023 where he is currently involved with the SCRI project for genomic and breeding data collection and curation. Michael loves nature and enjoys outdoor activities. In his free time, he reads history and plays soccer.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2024\/08\/trey_picture-147x150.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nRalph (Trey) Burrell III (Part-time Technician 2019-Present)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPhD. Students<\/strong>
<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMasters Students<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2023\/08\/20230717_073015-1-225x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBilgehan Geylani (2024-Present)
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStudent Workers
<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rosbreed II<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Short and long-term solutions for Armillaria Root Rot in Prunus<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Genome Database for Rosaceae: Empowering Specialty Crop Research through Big-Data Driven Discovery and Application in Breeding<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Understanding the molecular basis of carotenoid synthesis and accumulation in stone fruits: A platform to enhance fruit value<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Enabling Marker-Assisted Breeding for fruit size in peach<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Historical Chill Hour vs Chill Portions\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/gasic\/files\/2023\/12\/CPvsCH-1.jpg\")