Recently, Italian scientist Giovanni Giuliano, Research Director, and Dr. Paola Ferrante were invited by Dr. Wang Lihao and Dr. Cheng Feng to our institute for academic communication. Dr. Giovanni Giuliano is a leading member of Italian National Institute for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable economic Development. He has had postdoctoral research at the Cold Spring Port Laboratory in the United States and has led multiple domestic and EU projects in Italy. Dr. Giovanni Giuliano introduced his laboratory's latest research findings on ‘Domestication, migration, and diversification of fruit traits in major Solanaceae crops’, including tomatoes, chili peppers, eggplants, and potatoes. Later, we discussed and communicted with him about the research of his presentation.

After the academic presentation meeting, Director Zhang Youjun and Giovanni Giuliano introduced the scientific research situation of their respective institutes, and negotiated scientific research cooperation between the institutes. They reached initial intentions on joint application for international cooperation projects, joint training of graduate students, and visiting scholars, and drafted an memorandum of understanding between the two institutes.

Dr. Giovanni Giuliano has a long-term cooperation with our institute researchers in the genomics and projects of chili and Solanaceae crops. Dr. Wang Lihao participated as an external participant in the Horizon 2020 EU project led by Dr. Giovanni Giuliano; The international joint research paper on chili domestication initiated by our scientists and led by Giovanni Giuliano was published in the renowned academic journal Molecular Plant in 2022.