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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #336443
Title: Cross-compatibility in cranberry-blueberry hybridization and implications in endosperm balance number

Author
item Zalapa, Juan
item COVARRUBIAS-PAZARAN, GIOVANNY - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: Euphytica
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/5/2017
Publication Date: 12/22/2017
Citation: Zalapa, J.E., Covarrubias-Pazaran, G. 2017. Cross-compatibility in cranberry-blueberry hybridization and implications in endosperm balance number. Euphytica. Mol Breeding (2018) 38: 9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-017-0765-y.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-017-0765-y

Interpretive Summary: Cranberry and blueberry (Vaccinium) species have increasingly become specialty crops of economic importance around the world and breeding efforts have increased in the last decades. At the same time, the use of hybrids between different Vaccinium species has been suggested as an invaluable resource for improvement of adaptability and quality traits, such as fruit flavor and subtropical adaptation. The creation of hybrids has relied in try-and-error efforts leading to dispersed literature about the crossability between cranberry and blueberry. Here, we present the results from crosses among some blueberry and cranberry species. We found that crosses between V. darrowii (wild blueberry) x V. oxycoccos (wild cranberry) resulted in fruit set and viable seed and seedlings. Hybrid seedlings were germinated and grown and were able to produce flowers. We presented potential explanations based on our experience and on available literature for the success and failure of our cranberry/blueberry crosses. We proposed a genetic mechanism that could explain the cross compatibility among Vaccinium species. Further crosses and experiments were suggested to clarify when cranberry-blueberry crosses will succeed to allow us enhance the commercial germplasm.

Technical Abstract: Agricultural crops constantly benefit from introducing exotic germplasm into their breeding programs. Secondary and tertiary gene pools are only exploited when certain traits cannot be obtained from the primary breeding pool. Within the Vaccinium genus, cranberry and blueberry are specialty crops of economic relevance that make constant use of exotic germplasm. Historically, secondary gene pools in Vaccinium have played an important role in the development of blueberry cultivars possessing traits of interest such as acclimation to lower latitudes, soil adaptation and disease resistance. Intercrossing among the cranberry and blueberry sections has been limited due to genetic distance and differing ploidy levels among other reasons. In this paper, we present the results of a crossability study among several cranberry and blueberry species with different ploidy levels. Successful crosses among V. darrowii (2n=2x) with V. oxycoccos (2n=2x, 4x), wild relatives from the commercial blueberry (V. corymbosum; 2n=4x) and cranberry (V. macrocarpon; 2n=2x, 4x), respectively, are presented as well. We hypothesized that the endosperm balance number hypothesis might be the main mechanism underlying the cross-compatibility among Vaccinium species, and we discuss the implications in the future efforts of germplasm enhancement.