On May 21st, at the joint invitation of Prof. Lihao Wang and Prof. Feng Cheng, Italian scientists Dr. Giovanni Giuliano and Dr. Paola Ferrante visited Institute of Vegetables and Flowers (IVF-CAAS) for academic exchange. Dr. Giovanni Giuliano is a leading member of the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development and has conducted postdoctoral research at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the United States. He has led multiple domestic and EU projects in Italy. Dr. Giovanni Giuliano presented the latest research findings from his laboratory on the domestication, migration, and diversification of fruit traits in major Solanaceae crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and potatoes, in a lecture titled“Domestication, Migration, and Diversification of Fruit Traits in Major Solanaceae Crops.”Following the presentation, in-depth discussions and exchanges were conducted.

Following the academic presentation, Director Youjun Zhang and Dr. Giovanni Giuliano engaged in discussions regarding the scientific research activities at their respective institutions. They explored potential avenues for collaboration between the two institutions and reached preliminary agreements on joint applications for international cooperation projects, co-supervision of graduate students, and hosting of visiting scholars. Additionally, they drafted a memorandum of academic cooperation.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Giovanni Giuliano has maintained a long-term collaboration with IVF-CAAS in the genomics and related projects of peppers and other Solanaceae crops. Prof. Lihao Wang has participated as an external member in the Horizon 2020 EU project led by Dr. Giovanni Giuliano. In 2022, an international joint research paper on pepper domestication, initiated by IVF-CAAS’s scientists and led by Dr. Giovanni Giuliano, was published in the prestigious academic journal MP.

By Yacong Cao（caoyacong@caas.cn）