Andrei Bondar obtained a BSc in Forestry Management and Engineering from Transylvania University - Romania and he worked for 6 years as a forestry engineer for Romanian National Forestry Administration. In October 2005 he moved in Montreal for studying biotechnology and he obtained an AEC in Biotechnology at Dawson College in Montreal. After a very rich hands on forestry experience which offered him a complete perspective over the complexity of biological ecosystems, his interest headed toward further understanding of plant's cellular mechanisms. His goal is to use the most advanced biotechnologies in practical application in pest management, forestry, horticulture, plant breeding.
In his short stay at HRDC he evaluated advanced and semi-advanced selections of 8 apple cultivars in order to determine their specific degree of enzymatic oxidation (A14R3A10 , A16R5A15, A20R7A64, A21R5A20, A28R6A73, A30R6A109, A37R5A76, A39R5A80). As standards, 4 known cultivars were used: Eden, Cortland, Macspur, R. Russet. 
The project had the following distinctive parts:
 - Creating a visual browning index for internal use;
 - Measuring the kinetics of the browning reaction using colorimetric methods. (Minolta CR-100) and calculating a synthetic browning index;
 - Measuring the acidity and the soluble solids;
 - Establishing correlations between polyphenol oxidase activity (exprimed as browning index values), the apple's genotype and the tool used for slicing the fruits.

The complete results of this experiment will be available in short time.

 

The person in charge of the training course: Shahrokh Khanizadeh