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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Miami, Florida » Subtropical Horticulture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #333269
Title: Genetic map of mango: a tool for mango breeding

Author
item Kuhn, David
item BALLY, IAN - Department Of Agriculture - Australia
item DILLON, NATALIE - Department Of Agriculture - Australia
item INNES, DAVID - Department Of Agriculture - Australia
item GROT, AMY - Florida International University
item RAHAMAN, JORDAN - Florida International University
item OPHIR, RON - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel
item COHEN, YUVAL - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel
item SHERMAN, AMIR - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/30/2017
Publication Date: 4/20/2017
Citation: Kuhn, D.N., Bally, I., Dillon, N., Innes, D., Grot, A.M., Rahaman, J., Ophir, R., Cohen, Y., Sherman, A. 2017. Genetic map of mango: a tool for mango breeding. Frontiers in Plant Science. 8:577. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.00577.

Interpretive Summary: Tree breeding is a difficult and time consuming endeavour. To improve the efficiency of tree breeding, breeders search for some type of marker that will help them identify potentially improved trees at the seedling stage. We have developed many thousands of DNA markers for mango and begun the association of traits with those markers to aid both breeders and producers. This paper describes the creation of a genetic map for mango and the identification of markers associated with commercially important qualitative traits such as polyembryony, bloom, ground skin color, pulp color, branch habit, beak shape size, and blush intensity. The markers associated with these traits will improve the ability of breeders to predict the traits of the mature tree from the genotype of the seedling. This result will improve the efficiency of screening seedlings to find improved cultivars of fruit trees. Since fruit trees are vegetatively propagated, this method also will enhance the selection, evaluation and release of new improved varieties of mango. The information presented in this paper is of importance to mango research scientists, breeders and producers.

Technical Abstract: Mango (Mangifera indica) is an economically and nutritionally important tropical/subtropical tree fruit crop, affectionately labeled the “King of Fruit”. Mango is an allotetraploid with 40 chromosomes and the size of the diploid genome is ~439 Mb. Most of the current commercial cultivars are selections rather than the products of breeding programs. To improve the efficiency of mango breeding, molecular genetic markers have been used to create a consensus genetic map that identifies all 20 linkage groups from seven mapping populations. Polyembryony is an important mango trait where, in addition to a zygotic embryo, several apomictic embryos develop from maternal tissue surrounding the fertilized egg cell. This trait has been associated with linkage group 8 in our consensus genetic map and has been validated in two of the seven mapping populations. In addition, we have observed a significant association between trait and SNP markers for the vegetative trait of branch habit and the fruit traits of bloom, ground skin color, blush intensity, beak shape, and pulp color.