Peach Breeding Enters the 'Digital Era'... Developing Efficient and Diverse Varieties
Published 2025년 7월 9일
Tridge summary
(Jeonju=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jin-bang = The Rural Development Administration announced on the 9th that it will fully introduce digital breeding technology to improve the efficiency of domestic peach breeding and develop diverse varieties.
The number of registered peach varieties in Korea is 202, which is 2.1 times more than apples (97) and 3.5 times more than pears (58). While the demand for diverse varieties is high, developing a peach variety requires planting and caring for about 10,000 trees and takes over 15 years.
Digital breeding is an information-based breeding method that combines biotechnology with big data technology, unlike traditional breeding.
The RDA research team decoded the genome of 445 peach genetic resources preserved in-house from 2021 to 2023 and secured 944,670 genetic information points.
By adding fruit characteristic evaluation information to this genetic information, they selected 150 peach core groups representing the 445 peach genetic resources. The core group itself is a useful material that produces high-quality big data with significant academic and practical value.
Along with this, they developed two molecular markers that distinguish fruit shape and the presence or absence of hair during the genome decoding process.
Molecular markers are identifiers that quickly and accurately find a plant's genetic characteristics. When used in breeding, genetic type information can be analyzed from leaves of young trees to determine shape and hair presence early on.
By utilizing digital breeding, instead of planting 1,000 trees and selecting flat peach individuals after 3-4 years when fruits appear, one can select trees that will produce flat peaches when young and plant only 500 trees.
The RDA has completed patent application for shape determination molecular markers and is preparing patent application for hair presence molecular markers.
National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science Director Kim Myung-soo said, "Digital breeding technology will be an important turning point in effectively transforming Korea's peach variety development system" and "As the use of molecular markers associated with various traits of the peach core group expands, we expect the number of distinctive varieties to increase, broadening the choices for producers and consumers."
The number of registered peach varieties in Korea is 202, which is 2.1 times more than apples (97) and 3.5 times more than pears (58). While the demand for diverse varieties is high, developing a peach variety requires planting and caring for about 10,000 trees and takes over 15 years.
Digital breeding is an information-based breeding method that combines biotechnology with big data technology, unlike traditional breeding.
The RDA research team decoded the genome of 445 peach genetic resources preserved in-house from 2021 to 2023 and secured 944,670 genetic information points.
By adding fruit characteristic evaluation information to this genetic information, they selected 150 peach core groups representing the 445 peach genetic resources. The core group itself is a useful material that produces high-quality big data with significant academic and practical value.
Along with this, they developed two molecular markers that distinguish fruit shape and the presence or absence of hair during the genome decoding process.
Molecular markers are identifiers that quickly and accurately find a plant's genetic characteristics. When used in breeding, genetic type information can be analyzed from leaves of young trees to determine shape and hair presence early on.
By utilizing digital breeding, instead of planting 1,000 trees and selecting flat peach individuals after 3-4 years when fruits appear, one can select trees that will produce flat peaches when young and plant only 500 trees.
The RDA has completed patent application for shape determination molecular markers and is preparing patent application for hair presence molecular markers.
National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science Director Kim Myung-soo said, "Digital breeding technology will be an important turning point in effectively transforming Korea's peach variety development system" and "As the use of molecular markers associated with various traits of the peach core group expands, we expect the number of distinctive varieties to increase, broadening the choices for producers and consumers."
Original content
(Jeonju=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jin-bang = The Rural Development Administration announced on the 9th that it will fully introduce digital breeding technology to improve the efficiency of domestic peach breeding and develop diverse varieties. The number of registered peach varieties in Korea is 202, which is 2.1 times more than apples (97) and 3.5 times more than pears (58). While the demand for diverse varieties is high, developing a peach variety requires planting and caring for around 10,000 trees and takes more than 15 years. Digital breeding is an information-based breeding method that combines biotechnology with big data technology, unlike traditional breeding. The RDA research team decoded the genome of 445 peach genetic resources they have preserved from 2021 to 2023 and secured 944,670 genetic information points. By adding fruit characteristic evaluation information to this genetic information, they selected 150 peach core groups representing the 445 peach genetic ...
Source: Yna
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