Genetic and genomic resources for Rubus breeding: a roadmap for the future

Authors: FOSTER, TOSHI - Plant And Food Research; Bassil, Nahla; DOSSETT, MICHAEL - British Columbia Blueberry Council; WORTHINGTON, MARGARET - University Of Arkansas; GRAHAM, JULIE - The James Hutton Institute

Submitted to: Horticulture Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/28/2019
Publication Date: 10/15/2019
Citation: Foster, T.M., Bassil, N.V., Dossett, M., Worthington, M.L., Graham, J. 2019. Genetic and genomic resources for Rubus breeding: a roadmap for the future. Horticulture Research. 6:116. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-019-0199-2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-019-0199-2

Interpretive Summary: Blackberries and raspberries are high-value crops that are sought after by consumers for their taste, visual appeal and health benefits. To meet this demand, production of red and black raspberries, blackberries, and hybrids is growing worldwide. Breeding programs are continually striving to improve taste, texture and yield, provide pest and disease resistance, improve storage properties and optimize both fruit and plants for different production and harvest systems. Breeders face numerous challenges such as polyploidy, the lack of genetic diversity in many of the elite cultivars, and until recently, the relative shortage of genetic and genomic resources available for group of plants. This review gives an update on the availble genomic tools and genomic regions controlling key traits in red and black raspberry and blackberry. The development of genetic and genomic tools can expedite breeding of improved cultivars.

Technical Abstract: Rubus fruits are high-value crops that are sought after by consumers for their taste, visual appeal and health benefits. To meet this demand, production of red and black raspberries (R. idaeus L. and R. occidentalis L.), blackberries (R. subgenus Rubus) and hybrids such as boysenberry and marionberry is growing worldwide. Rubus breeding programmes are continually striving to improve taste, texture and yield, provide pest and disease resistance, improve storage properties and optimise both fruit and plants for different production and harvest systems. Breeders face numerous challenges such as polyploidy, the lack of genetic diversity in many of the elite cultivars, and until recently, the relative shortage of genetic and genomic resources available for Rubus. This review will highlight the development of continually improving genetic maps, the identification of QTLs controlling key traits, draft genomes for red and black raspberry, and efforts to improve gene models. The development of genetic maps and markers, the molecular characterisation of wild species and germplasm, and high-throughput genotyping platforms will expedite breeding of improved cultivars. Fully sequenced genomes and accurate gene models facilitate identification of genes underlying traits of interest and enable gene editing technologies such as CRIPSR/Cas9.