VANCE M.

WHITAKER Assistant Professor, Strawberry Breeding and Genetics University of Florida IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center 14625 CR 672 Wimauma, FL 33598 813.633.4136 vwhitaker@ufl.edu Education B.S. (2003) Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, M.S. (2006) Plant Breeding and Mol. Genetics, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN Ph.D. (2009) Plant Breeding and Mol. Genetics, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN Professional Appointments: August 2009 to Present. Assistant Professor of Strawberry Breeding and Genetics, University of Florida, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Balm, FL. Genetic improvement of strawberries for annual production systems, development and deployment of new cultivars, and extension of knowledge and resources to Florida strawberry growers (80% research, 20% extension). May 2009 to August 2009. Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. Inheritance and molecular marker analyses of race-specific black spot resistances in tetraploid rose. August 2003 to May 2009. Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. Pathogenic and molecular diversity analyses of the rose black spot pathogen and genetic analysis of race-specific and partial resistances to black spot in diploid and tetraploid rose germplasm. Recent Publications (last 3 yrs): Whitaker, V.M., T. Debener, A.V. Roberts, and S.C. Hokanson. 2009. Unified nomenclature for an international collection of Diplocarpon rosae races and a standard host differential set. Plant Pathology (in press) Whitaker, V.M., and S.C. Hokanson. 2009. Partial resistance to black spot disease in diploid and tetraploid roses: general combining ability and implications for breeding and selection. Euphytica 169:421-429. Whitaker, V.M., and S.C. Hokanson. 2009. Breeding roses for disease resistance. In: Plant Breed Rev 31:277-324. Jules Janick (ed.) John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Whitaker, V.M., J. Bradeen, T. Debener, A. Biber, and S.C. Hokanson. 2009. Rdr3, a novel locus conferring black spot disease resistance in tetraploid roses: genetic analysis, LRR profiling, and SCAR marker development. Theor Appl Genet 120:573-585. Whitaker,V.M., J. Bradeen, and S.C. Hokanson. 2007. Distribution of rose black spot (Diplocarpon rosae Wolf) genetic diversity in eastern North America using AFLP and implications for resistance screening. J Amer Soc Hort Sci 132:534-540. Whitaker, V.M., K. Zuzek, and S.C. Hokanson. 2007. Resistance of twelve rose genotypes to fourteen isolates of Diplocarpon rosae (rose black spot) collected from eastern North America. Plant Breeding 126:83-88. Recent Abstracts (last 3 yrs): Whitaker, V.M., S.C. Hokanosn, J. Bradeen, T. Debener, and A. Biber. 2009. NBS and LRR profiling for marker development and RGA discovery in rose. Plant and Animal Genome XVII Conference, San Diego, CA. Whitaker, V.M., and S.C. Hokanson. 2008. Genetics of resistance to Diplocarpon rosae in tetraploid roses. Phytopathology 98:S170. Whitaker, V.M., and S.C. Hokanson. 2008. The inheritance of race-specific black spot resistances in tetraploid roses. HortScience 43:1101. Hokanson, S.C., K. Zuzek, V.M. Whitaker, and S. McNamara. 2007. Three new cold-hardy polyantha rose cultivars from the University of Minnesota Woody Landscape Plant Breeding Program. HortScience 42:986-987. Research Presentations (last 3 yrs): Plant and Animal Genome XVII Conference, NBS and LRR profiling for marker development and RGA discovery in rose, San Diego, CA. National Science Foundation (NSF), Molecular genetic characterization of disease resistance genes in rose, 2008, Arlington, VA American Phytopathological Society (APS), Genetics of resistance to Diplocarpon rosae in tetraploid roses, 2008, Minneapolis, MN American Society of Horticultural Science (ASHS), The inheritance of race-specific black spot resistances in tetraploid roses, 2008, Orlando, FL 1st Internation Rose Genomics Symposium, Characterization of the rose black spot pathogen and the hunt for resistance genes at the University of Minnesota w/ Stan Hokanson, 2007, Angers, France 4th International Symposium on Rose Research and Cultivation (ISHS), Culturing and long-term storage of virulent races of the rose black spot pathogen, Diplocarpon rosae Wolf., 2005, Santa Barbara, CA