Unlocking the genetic potential of apple and pear in United Kingdom: Advances in intergeneric hybrid viability and trait selection

The Pomoideae subfamily includes nutritionally valuable pome fruits like apples and pears, and their genetic diversity is critical for the enhancement of fruit crops. Current research has made strides in intergeneric hybridization to amalgamate traits such as flavor and disease resistance but is hampered by the hybrids' viability issues. Initial successes, like Zwintzscher's Hybrid, are limited by low progeny survival, particularly when pears are served as the female parent. Given these challenges, there is an urgent need to establish viable intergeneric hybrids between apple and pear that can sustain long-term survival and fertility. In October 2022, Horticulture Research published a perspective titled "Molecular characterization of intergeneric hybrids between Malus and Pyrus." In this study, researchers employed simple sequence repeat (SSR), high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis, and single nucleotide ...