Improvement of pomegranate cultivars through better understanding the biology and genetics of pomegranate
2019
Holland, D. | Bar-Ya'akov, I. | Harel-Beja, R. | Hatib, K. | Trainin, T. | Rubinstein, Moises | Porat, R. | Ophir, R. | Sherman, A.
The attractiveness of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) derives from its fruit taste, appealing appearance, high content of health beneficial compounds and the ability to grow in a wide range of climatic conditions. The value of pomegranate in modern society is increasing, as efficient technologies are developed to improve yield and produce high quality fruit. In addition, science unveils the full scale of the medical potential of pomegranate. Our major purpose is to exploit the rich and highly variable pomegranate collection originating from Israel and from other parts of the world for studying the genetics of agriculturally important traits of pomegranate. This knowledge is valuable for improving pomegranate cultivars. Our focus is on color production, time of ripening, tolerance to postharvest chilling, sensitivity to fungal diseases, ability to cope with environmental conditions and production of hydrolizable tannins that benefit human health. In order to attain our goals we established pomegranate segregating populations and searched for SNP markers based on transcriptome comparisons and genotyping by sequencing (GBS) analyses. Up to date our efforts allowed us to identify genetic markers (SNPs and SSRs) for color production, ripening date, fruit quality characteristics, dormancy break and biosynthesis of hydrolizable tannins. Integrating data derived from pomegranate linkage maps with that obtained from association studies of the collection strengthened the linkage between traits and genetic markers. Currently we devise methods to integrate the gained genetic knowledge into our breeding program.
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