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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #373771
Research Project: Breeding Prunus and Vitis Scions for Improved Fruit Quality and Durable Pest Resistance

Location: Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research

Title: Getting the perfect cluster shape: defining traits and developing DNA markers

Author
item Naegele, Rachel
item CLARK, MATT - University Of Minnesota
item MARTINSON, TIM - Cornell University

Submitted to: Trade Journal Publication
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2020
Publication Date: 6/15/2020
Citation: Naegele, R.P., Clark, M., Martinson, T. 2020. Getting the perfect cluster shape: defining traits and developing DNA markers. American Vineyard. 29(6):22-25.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Cluster architecture and compactness can be affected by a number of traits including berry number and size, rachis branch number, length and even rachis angle. Evaluating each of these traits in mapping populations to develop DNA tests is time consuming and a challenge for grape breeding programs. Manually evaluating all of these traits can take 10-15 minutes per cluster – and when you multiply that by 1000 clusters in a typical ‘mapping population’, it quickly becomes impractical. Fortunately, advancements in image-based analyses are making it possible to dramatically reduce the time it takes to evaluate grape cluster characteristics. These image-based analyses can be used with traditional genomic tools as well as a new genomic tool called ‘rhAmpSeq’ to locate and identify DNA markers associated with grape cluster architecture traits. Once discovered, these DNA tests can be used by grape breeders to predict and select promising lines at the seedling stage instead of waiting until vines are 2-3 years old.