ARS | Publication request: Developing tools for long-term breeding of blueberry germplasm for UK production

Submitted to: International Journal of Fruit Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: October 27, 2010
Publication Date: March 14, 2012
Citation: Mccallum, S., Woodhead, M., Jorgensen, L., Gordon, S., Brennan, R., Graham, J., Hackett, C., Rowland, L.J., Hancock, J., Olmstead, J., Bassil, N.V. 2012. Developing tools for long-term breeding of blueberry germplasm for UK production. International Journal of Fruit Science. 12:294-303.

Technical Abstract: Fruit consumption in the UK, particularly of berry fruits, is expanding rapidly, and consumer demand for blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) is at record levels with UK growers unable to meet current demand. Consumers are aware that eating fruit can be pleasurable and with appropriate packaging, convenient, but blueberry remains unfamiliar to a wide cross section of UK consumers. There is great potential for UK growers to supply high quality fresh blueberries across a wide season so that consumption of this healthy fruit can be integrated into the British diet. A genetic framework for future crop improvement is required to develop a thriving and sustainable industry. The genetic component of this project builds on the statistical developments derived from the software programme, TetraploidMap, to identify fruit quality, health and agronomic related quantitative trait loci (QTL) in tetraploid blueberry for marker assisted breeding. A mapping population developed from two key US blueberry cultivars segregating for a number of important phenotypic traits and a selection of EST based molecular markers have been utilised. Data on 74 markers has been analyzed and found to show segregation patterns consistent with the simplest model for meiosis, random chromosomal segregation allowing the production of a draft tetraploid blueberry linkage map.