Hannele Lindqvist-Kreuze is a Molecular Breeder at the International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima, Peru. She is originally from Finland and received her MSc in Agronomy (Plant Pathology) from the University of Helsinki and her PhD is Molecular Plant Pathology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. At CIP she has worked on potato genomics and specifically on biotic stress resistance since 2004. 

Project summary

The final goal of Hannele's project is to increase the capacity of Latin American breeders of autopolyploid crops in using modern genomics tools in their breeding programmes. The project started with already existing real-life data generated in the CIP breeding programme of tetraploid potato that was used to develop a bioinformatics workflow starting from marker identification and ending in the identification of genomic regions responsible for the trait of interest. Eventually, the workflow will be validated using other data.

Project outcomes and impact

The workflow and the tools have already been used as an example during the CABANA workshop “Exploring Biodiversity through Bioinformatics” that took place at CIP April 9-12, 2019, where Hannele was one of the trainers. Hannele reports that she is now much more fluent in using linux and R. Additionally, the newly created network between CIP and Earlham has prompted the exploration of the possibilities of a shared research project.