Source: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS submitted to NRP
GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF ALMOND AND PEACH
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1020502
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2019
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2024
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
410 MRAK HALL
DAVIS,CA 95616-8671
Performing Department
Plant Sciences
Non Technical Summary
This project supports the mission of the Agricultural Experiment Station by addressing the Hatch Act area(s) of: plant and animal production, protection and health. This project focuses on the genetic improvement of almond, peach and associated rootstocks. Improvements are being pursued in three principal areas: (a) germplasm improvement and cultivar development, (b) the development of effective molecular markers to facilitate rapid gene transfer of targeted traits [i.e. Marker Assisted Selection], and (c), the development of improved breeding strategies to optimize current resources for successful development of fruit crop varieties [i.e. Marker Assisted Breeding and gene-editing]. The ultimate goal of this research is the release to the California industry of improved cultivars and rootstocks which provide improved productivity under adverse environments, improve disease and pest resistance and water use efficiency, and improved market and nutritional quality. These genetic options will allow the production of more nutritious food while reducing environmental contaminants such as pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizer leaching into the groundwater.
Animal Health Component
60%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
60%
Developmental
30%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2011114108150%
2011212108150%
Knowledge Area
201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms;

Subject Of Investigation
1114 - Peach; 1212 - Almond;

Field Of Science
1081 - Breeding;
Goals / Objectives
Breed improved varieties and rootstocks of almond and peach adapted to California growing region and market needs. Characterize the genetic control of disease resistance, fruit quality and flesh integrity in peach and develop/implement improved molecular and biochemical/structural markers for their efficient selection in the processing peach cultivar development program. Characterize the genetic control of self-fruitfulness and self-compatibility in almond and develop/ implement improved molecular and biochemical/structural markers for their efficient selection in the almond cultivar development program. Characterize the genetic control of disease and nematode resistance, drought and salinity tolerance, and water use efficiency and develop/implement improved molecular and biochemical/structural markers for their efficient selection in the rootstock development program. Develop improved methods of tissue culture gene editing technologies to allow routine transformation of scion and rootstock's. Identify and incorporate into the peach, almond and rootstock breeding programs, sources of resistance to important pests and diseases and environmental stresses as well as sources contributing improved cropping and nutritional quality. Advance promising peach, almond and rootstock breeding selections to grower, processor and market trials to evaluate potential for release as improved commercial varieties and rootstocks.
Project Methods
Genetic improvement strategies employed include both molecular marker assisted analysis as well as more traditional controlled hybridizations. Exotic gene introgression, which involves the transfer of useful genes from other Prunus species to improved breeding lines utilizing improvements in both wide-hybridizations as well as molecular techniques, is being increasingly employed. Gene editing techniques along with the required cell culture/regeneration methods will be increasingly employed as the methodology is developed. Parents will be selected based on the desired traits for the progeny. Following controlled hybridizations progeny will be analyzed and selected using established quantitative (statistical analysis, etc.) and qualitative (biochemical/molecular analysis, etc.) approaches. Elite progeny will be used as parents in the next reiteration of this process until desired level of quality, productivity and environmental stability is achieved to warrant their release as new varieties. Molecular markers will be increasingly employed to increase selection efficiency for more difficult traits including self-compatibility in almond and flesh integrity/quality in peach. Gene editing techniques will also be utilized when traditional approaches prove inadequate.

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Research scientists, crop advisors, growers, processors, consultants, consumers. Changes/Problems:Reduction in Hatch support. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Trained 3 MS students the last year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Multiple publications, multiple professional presentations and multiple consumer/grower presentations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue with current strategy as presented in 5-year plan.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The goal of the genetic improvement of peach and almond project is the development of genetic options for solving current and emerging production, processing, and marketing needs. Specific objectives include the identification, incorporation, deployment, and testing of new genetic solutions to complement or supplant current and future management strategies. While the most evident outcomes are new varieties and rootstocks, a large effort of the improvement program is directed towards the identification of desired genetic/genomic arrangements, their characterization, and introgression (that is, the incorporation of the often novel genetic solution into a background fully compatible with California production). The final and perhaps the most demanding activity is the thorough testing of new selections over all anticipated production environments and within all major production regions before released to California growers and processors. During the 2019-20 season, over 5,000 almond seed were produced by controlled crosses between selected parents, and approximately 20,000 seedling trees were evaluated for breeding priorities with 48 genotypes selected and propagated for more advanced replicated testing. Field data on 12 previously propagated advanced selections from 8 ongoing regional variety trials were also collected and analyzed. Additional evaluation plots were established in the Sacramento Valley (Colusa Co.) and the San Joaquin Valley (Kern Co.) and an 18-year Bud-failure test in Kern County was completed. From about 20,000 peach crosses we harvested over 4000 seed which have been stratified and are now being grown in the greenhouse for initial screening with field transplantation of remaining plants in 2021. In 2020, we were able to get over 2400 seedlings field-planted while generating about 4000 new seed for greenhouse selection and field planting in 2021.Advanced UCD processing peach selections were evaluated in regional plots in Marysville, Yuba, Solano, Yolo, and Stanislaus counties. Recently released UCD almond variety Kester and peach varieties Kader and Vilmos continue to show good promise in regional plantings. Advanced peach selections Ultra-Early-1 and Early-6 also continue to show promise and are on track for industry release. These multiple efforts are required to advance the core components of the UCD improvement program. While ensuring that the California industry has a proven genetic arsenal for meeting current and future challenges imposed by production, regulatory, climate and market changes, the demanding multi-year (multi-decade) investments to develop and thoroughly trial these solutions typically preclude efforts by private breeders, thus making public breeding programs the most reliable option. The UCD public breeding program is also unique in that advance germplasm and results from this often intensive and extensive research is made available to all industry players facilitating a more rapid and open commercial deployment.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Gradziel, T.M. 2020. Redomesticating Almond to Meet Emerging Food Safety Needs Frontiers in Plant Science, Volume 11, 12 June 2020. 89/fpls.2020.00778. https://doi.org/10.33
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Angela S. Prudencio, Raquel S�nchez-P�rez, TM Gradziel, Pedro J. Mart�nez-Garc�a, Federico Dicenta, Thomas M. Gradziel and Pedro Martinez Gomez. 2020. Genomic Designing for New Climate-Resilient Almond Varieties . In: Chittaranjan Kole (Ed.) Genomic Designing of Climate-Smart Fruit Crops. ISHS Jhlpd68505c015976.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Felipe P�rez de los Cobos, Pedro J Mart�nez-Garc�a , Agust� Romero , Xavier Miarnau, Iban Eduardo , Werner Howad, Mourad Mnejja, Federico Dicenta, Rafel Socias i Company, Maria J Rubio-Cabetas, Thomas M Gradziel, Michelle Wirthensohn , Henri Duval, Doron Holland, Pere Ar�s , Francisco J Vargas and Ignasi Batlle. 2021. Pedigree analysis of 220 almond genotypes reveals two world mainstream breeding lines based ononly three different cultivars. Horticulture Research (2021) 8:11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-020-00444-4.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: D'Amico-Willman, Katherine M. Elizabeth S. Anderson, Thomas M. Gradziel, Jonathan Fresnedo-Ram�rez. (2021). Relative telomere length and TERT expression are associated with age in almond (Prunus dulcis [Mill.] D.A.Webb). Plants.