Research Projects

The project aims to develop endo-microbiome-based markers for identifying the region of origin of saffron in Indian and Austrian PI. Two complementary methods, high-throughput direct metagenomic DNA sequencing from corm endo-biome and stable isotope probing, will be used to develop markers for saffron grown in various geographical locations. These markers are highly specific and lack genetic markers, making them suitable for use in the absence of genetic tags. The project aims to develop complementary markers and DNA-isotope fingerprints to identify saffron specific to geographic location, which can be used as tags in the absence of genetic markers. The hypothesis is that corm endo-microbiome and sip of corm can be used as markers in saffron.