Past Meeting
May 21, 2026 Meeting: An Exploration of Citrus Genetics
In this talk, Steve Jackson covered the basics of how variation of plant traits is affected by DNA. He used this introduction as a basis for discussing how the different types of citrus fruit evolved, and explained how variegated varieties arise. Finally, he introduced how genome modifications can be used to improve crop health.
Steve Jackson has devoted his professional life to understanding how DNA influences the development of biological traits. Currently, he is working at Thermo Fisher Scientific, helping researchers use DNA sequence analysis tools to benefit health care research, forensics, agricultural science, and environmental stewardship. Before that, he worked for a small DNA analysis startup company in Seattle. And before that, he was an Acting Assistant Professor at University of Washington, Department of Genome Sciences. He taught undergraduate genetics and ran a small lab investigating developmental genetics and human neurodegenerative diseases using fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) as a model system.
UCR Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection
