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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #421559
Research Project: Curation and Research to Safeguard and Expand Collections of Plant and Microbial Genetic Resources and Associated Descriptive Information

Location: Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research

Title: Identifying precise ancestral contributions of wild Malus species to M. domestica cultivars and breeding material using 20K SNP array data

Author
item HOWARD, NICHOLAS - Fresh Forward Breeding & Marketing
item VANDERZANDE, STIJN - Wageningen University
item KHAN, GULZAR - Carl von Ossietzky University Of Oldenburg
item LUBY, JIM - University Of Minnesota
item Volk, Gayle
item ALBACH, DIRK - Carl von Ossietzky University Of Oldenburg
item PEACE, CAMERON - Washington State University

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/17/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: The origins and species classifications of both wild and domestic Malus accessions are often conflicting or unclear due to overlapping phenotypic descriptions, the ease with which different Malus species can hybridize, and a lack of provenance or passport information accompanying many accessions. Newly available genotypic data and genomic tools enable investigation into this area. A species-specific SNP allele and haploblock allele library was developed using a panel of wild M. orientalis, M. sieversii, M. sylvestris, and tiny-fruited Malus species like M. baccata and M. toringo genotyped on the Illumina Infinium 20K SNP array. Accessions with extensive admixture were excluded from this panel and any haplotypes indicative of admixture in individuals with minor detected levels of admixture (< 5 %) were masked for the generation of the library. This library was used to estimate the proportional contribution of each species or species group towards the genomes of various Malus accessions. The results of this analysis revealed, clarified, or confirmed the ancestries of wild and domestic Malus accessions. All dessert and cider cultivars were a mix of the three primary progenitors of M. domestica (M. sieversii, M. sylvestris, and M. orientalis), with varying levels of each progenitor in their ancestries. Some cultivars had evidence of minute ancestry from tiny-fruited Malus. Some accessions considered as wild used in breeding and research were identified as hybrids or as having previously undetected admixture. These results will be useful for breeding and management purposes.