Edoardo Bertolini

Background

About Edoardo Bertolini

As a Research Scientist at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, I have dedicated my research to dissecting the genetic networks influencing maize architecture. This commitment involved integrating vast genomics datasets, analyzing natural genetic variation, and applying advanced genomic prediction models. This comprehensive approach has enabled me to identify novel target genes crucial for precise crop improvement. Among my accomplishments, I co-led a groundbreaking project that revealed the regulatory regions controlling maize ear and tassel development. We utilized chromatin profiling and transcriptomic analysis to uncover tissue-specific chromatin profiles associated with early organogenesis. Pairing this data with maize NAM phenotypic information on ear row number and tassel branch number led to the identification of novel markers associated with genes that significantly influence maize yield. Since 2019, I have had the privilege of leading the computational analyses for an NSF-supported project aimed at uncovering the regulatory modules influencing the architectural pleiotropy between tassel branch number and leaf angle in maize. My approach utilized transcriptional networks and multi-trait genome-wide associations, leading to the identification of uncharacterized pleiotropic genes and unraveling the intricate gene network involved in these linked agronomic traits. As a research scientist, I am now conducting computational analyses to apply graph theory methodologies within genomic selection models, demonstrating a cutting-edge approach to accelerate targeted breeding initiatives.