Articles
VacciniumCAP, a community-based project to develop advanced genetic tools to improve fruit quality in blueberry and cranberry
Article number
1357_57
Pages
411 – 425
Language
English
Abstract
Vaccinium crops (primarily blueberry and cranberry) provide vital contributions to the US economy and numerous social and health benefits.
Although production and consumption of these crops continue to expand worldwide, US Vaccinium industries face numerous challenges to maintain profitability.
Stakeholders have asserted that breeding cultivars with improved fruit quality is a high priority for continued success.
These traits include fruit firmness, flavor, shelf life, and appearance. Vaccinium breeders routinely select for these traits, however, they have little empirical data to assign a level of importance to specific fruit characteristics relative to consumer preferences or other important factors such as decay or deterioration during production, processing and distribution.
Breeders also possess limited tools to select for a higher quality fruit.
The VacciniumCAP project was funded by the USDA-NIFA-SCRI to create a nationwide coordinated transdisciplinary research approach to develop marker-assisted selection capacity in Vaccinium breeding programs, and to select for and pyramid FCs which enhance fruit quality and market value.
The project objectives are to: 1) establish genomic resources to enable effective association mapping studies in blueberry and cranberry; 2) discover DNA markers and fruit characteristics that maximize industry profitability and match consumer preferences in blueberry and cranberry; 3) deliver molecular and genetic resources to improve blueberry and cranberry fruit quality traits that maximize industry profitability and match consumer preferences; 4) assess the potential socio-economic impact of blueberry and cranberry fruit quality improvements on market demand; and 5) engage US Vaccinium stakeholder groups by transferring advanced phenomic and genomic tools to build a more efficient cultivar development system.
The rationale for the project, its structure and ongoing efforts are summarized.
Although production and consumption of these crops continue to expand worldwide, US Vaccinium industries face numerous challenges to maintain profitability.
Stakeholders have asserted that breeding cultivars with improved fruit quality is a high priority for continued success.
These traits include fruit firmness, flavor, shelf life, and appearance. Vaccinium breeders routinely select for these traits, however, they have little empirical data to assign a level of importance to specific fruit characteristics relative to consumer preferences or other important factors such as decay or deterioration during production, processing and distribution.
Breeders also possess limited tools to select for a higher quality fruit.
The VacciniumCAP project was funded by the USDA-NIFA-SCRI to create a nationwide coordinated transdisciplinary research approach to develop marker-assisted selection capacity in Vaccinium breeding programs, and to select for and pyramid FCs which enhance fruit quality and market value.
The project objectives are to: 1) establish genomic resources to enable effective association mapping studies in blueberry and cranberry; 2) discover DNA markers and fruit characteristics that maximize industry profitability and match consumer preferences in blueberry and cranberry; 3) deliver molecular and genetic resources to improve blueberry and cranberry fruit quality traits that maximize industry profitability and match consumer preferences; 4) assess the potential socio-economic impact of blueberry and cranberry fruit quality improvements on market demand; and 5) engage US Vaccinium stakeholder groups by transferring advanced phenomic and genomic tools to build a more efficient cultivar development system.
The rationale for the project, its structure and ongoing efforts are summarized.
Publication
Authors
M. Iorizzo, M.A. Lila, P. Perkins-Veazie, M. Pottorff, C. Finn, C. Luby, N. Vorsa, P. Edger, N. Bassil, P. Munoz, J. Zalapa, R.K. Gallardo, A. Atucha, D. Main, L. Giongo, C. Li, J. Polashock, C. Sims, E. Canales, L. De Vetter, M. Coe, D. Chagne, R. Espley
Keywords
Vaccinium, blueberry, cranberry, breeding, fruit quality, QTLs, socio-economics
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