Genetic diversity of Malus cultivars and wild relatives in the Chinese National Repository of Apple Germplasm Resources

Publication Overview
TitleGenetic diversity of Malus cultivars and wild relatives in the Chinese National Repository of Apple Germplasm Resources
AuthorsGao Y, Liu F, Wang K, Wang D, Gong X, Liu L, Richards CM, Henk AD, Volk GM.
TypeJournal Article
Journal NameTree Genetics & Genomes
Volume11
Year2015
Page(s)106
CitationGao Y, Liu F, Wang K, Wang D, Gong X, Liu L, Richards CM, Henk AD, Volk GM. Genetic diversity of Malus cultivars and wild relatives in the Chinese National Repository of Apple Germplasm Resources. Tree Genetics & Genomes 2015 11:106

Abstract

The Research Institute of Pomology (IP), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in Xingcheng, China, maintains hundreds of apple accessions that originated from around the world. We have used 16 microsatellites to assess the diversity and differentiation of 391 accessions within the IP that represent Malus × domestica (from China, Japan, former Soviet Republics, and Western countries) as well as the crop’s wild relative species Malus baccata, Malus prunifolia, Malus × robusta, and Malus sieversii. We identified genetic relationships among these eight source categories that suggest that the M. × domestica cultivars from the former Soviet Republics are most closely related to M. sieversii and may represent an independent lineage of domesticated apples distinct from those found in Western Europe and North America. We show that the M. × domestica cultivars from China and Western sources are genetically similar, whereas the cultivars from Japan are distinct. We also describe two accessions of M. × domestica ssp. chinensis landraces that are believed to be over 2000 years old and are more similar to wild species than are most of the M. × domestica cultivars. We show that the wild, landrace, and cultivar accessions within the IP offer novel diversity to apple breeding programs.
Projects
This publication contains information about 1 projects:
Project NameDescription
Gao_Chinese_National_Repository_Apple_2015