Breeding efforts in berry crops growing by leaps and bounds in the United States

Published Dec 20, 2022

Tridge summary

A significant advancement in the field of Vaccinium crop breeding, encompassing blueberries and cranberries, is the creation of the Vaccinium pangenome, a comprehensive collection of genes from various representative individuals within the species. This initiative, spearheaded by the Vaccinium Coordinated Agricultural Project (VacCAP), aims to enhance breeding efficiency and accuracy by integrating genetic and metabolomic data to identify unique genes linked to superior fruit quality. By analyzing 24 blueberry and 12 cranberry genomes, the project seeks to pinpoint genes distinct to each crop and individual genome, paving the way for targeted breeding strategies that can improve fruit quality and market value. The pangenome project is a crucial element of VacCAP, which also establishes a unified genotyping platform across Vaccinium species and creates a collaborative network to enhance DNA-based resources for more targeted breeding efforts. Funding for this project comes from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The Vaccinium pangenome is coming out! Scientists and breeders of Vaccinium crops, namely blueberry and cranberry, are excited, as this represents a monumental achievement. Growers and consumers of these fruits should also be enthusiastic, since the pangenome will be an essential tool to accelerate and optimize breeding efforts for key traits. Traits that influence fruit quality are of primary focus based on stakeholder feedback. But what exactly is a pangenome? And more fundamentally, how does it aid breeding efforts? Let’s start by breaking down the word. Pangenome is derived from the Greek word “pâs” or “pan,” meaning all, plus “genome,” meaning the entire set of DNA or genes within an organism. Thus, a pangenome is a collection of genes from multiple representative individuals within a species or group. The group in our case is Vaccinium, a taxonomical classification that includes highbush and rabbiteye blueberry as well as cranberry. Traditionally, geneticists and breeders ...

Source: Growingproduce