As a geneticist and agronomist, my work aims at adapting the current breeding methods to low input cultivation in Prunus (stone fruit) via prediction tools using large phenotypic and genotypic datasets. I mainly characterize apricot and peach panels of genetic resources (core-collections) for resilience traits in the field. My objectives are to define resilient ideotypes in both species, to characterize resilience components at the phenotypic and genomic levels, and to predict these components. This work should help breeders to respond faster to climate change and to a strong social demand for pesticide ban.  

More globally, my skills include quantitative genetics, population genetics, bioinformatics and biostatistics, while I am getting familiar with digital phenotyping.

Formation et Carrière

2020 – présent Researcher at INRAE –  Prunus Breeding methodology

2018-2020         Agroscope Wädenswil, Switzerland – Post-Doc on genome-wide association and genomic selection in apple

2014-2017         ETH Zurich, Switzerland – PhD in evolutionary genomics on reproductive barriers in Solanum : « Variability of hybrid seed failure in wild tomatoes (Solanum sect. Lycopersicon): phenotypic and molecular signatures in the developing endosperm».

2009-2013         Agrocampus Ouest, Centre de Rennes, France – Agronomy engineer specialized in plant breeding

Publications/chapitres/poster

Roth M, Muranty H, Di Guardo M, Guerra W, Patocchi, A, Costa F (2020) Genomic prediction of fruit texture and training population optimization towards the application of genomic selection in apple. Horticulture Research 7: 148.

Roth, M., Florez-Rueda, A. M., & Städler, T. (2019) Differences in effective ploidy drive genome-wide endosperm expression polarization and seed failure in wild tomato hybrids. Genetics 212 : 141-152.

Omrani M, Roth M, Roch G, Blanc A, Morris CE,  Audergon JM (2019) Genome-wide association multi-locus and multi-variate linear mixed models reveal two linked loci with major effects on partial resistance of apricot to bacterial canker. BMC Plant Biology 19: 31.

Roth M, Florez-Rueda AM, Griesser S, Paris M, Städler T (2018) Incidence and developmental timing of endosperm failure in post-zygotic isolation between wild tomato lineages. Annals of Botany 121 :107-118.

Roth M, Florez‐Rueda AM, Paris M, Städler T (2018) Wild tomato endosperm transcriptomes reveal common roles of genomic imprinting in both nuclear and cellular endosperm. The Plant Journal 95: 1084-1101.