INTEGRATING GENOMICS INTO ROSACEAE FRUIT BREEDING

The amount of information on genomic resources for Rosaceae species has rapidly grown since the beginning of this century.
A genome database for Rosaceae (GDR) is now available, with information from EST sequences, markers, linkage maps and a peach physical map.
One of the key resources for this family is a high-density reference map for stone fruit (Prunus) constructed entirely from transferable markers (mainly RFLPs and SSRs). Markers from this map have been used to construct maps in seven Prunus species, and comparisons of these maps have established that they all share the same genome.
Apple and pear also have highly syntenic genomes, and the data available on the comparison between peach and apple show an incomplete but high level of synteny.
The comparisons of Prunus with strawberry and rose are now the targets to improve our understanding of the Rosaceae genome.
Maps have been used to determine the genome positions of major genes and QTLs for important agronomic characters, and have provided markers for selection of these characters.
Because of the syntenic genome of Prunus, 28 major genes and 28 QTLs mapped in different species have been placed on a single consensus map.
Co-locations of genes and QTLs among Prunus species have been found, suggesting that the information of one species could be useful for others.
Some of this information is already used for rootstock and scion breeding programs.
Whole-genome searches of candidate genes, based on the growing transcriptome information is already producing results, improving our knowledge of disease resistance and fruit quality characters, which is likely to be useful for fruit tree breeding.

International Symposium on Biotechnology of Temperate Fruit Crops and Tropical Species

P. Arús

Prunus, apple, molecular markers, linkage maps, marker-assisted selection, physical maps, ESTs

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2007.738.1