New Genome Database Created To Aid Fruit Growers, Scientists
June 9, 2014 Scientists and growers can use a new genome database developed collaboratively by researchers from UF/IFAS, Washington State, Clemson, North Carolina State and Cornell universities to help make fruit trees more disease- and pest-resistant and enhance crop quality.
Researchers who study citrus, rosaceae, and vaccinium crops will be the primary users of the portal, said Mercy Olmstead, UF/IFAS assistant professor of horticultural sciences, but agricultural producers also will reap the benefits.
Rosaceae include apples, cherries, peaches, strawberries, pears and ornamental roses. Vaccinium fruits include blueberries and cranberries.
Olmstead, Fred Gmitter, a genetics and breeding professor at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, and Jim Olmstead, assistant professor of horticultural sciences, helped create what they and other scientists are calling the Tree Fruit Genome Database Resources. Dorrie Main, associate professor of bioinformatics at Washington State University, leads the project.
The portal, found at tfgdr.org, will help explain the genetic database and show how the information can be used to grow better fruit, Mercy Olmstead said.
The website provides data about 22 horticultural crops: almond, apple, apricot, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, clementine, cranberry, grapefruit, lemon, lime, mandarin, nectarine, orange, peach, pear, plum, pummelo, raspberry, rose, strawberry, and tangerine.
The site also features videos and articles that highlight the role genomics, breeding and these databases play in solving industry problems in fruit production.
The website also describes an upcoming project that Main’s laboratory is developing – the Growers’ Toolbox — an online decision-making tool.
This resource will provide weather, soil and environmental information to help growers decide which fruit varieties are most suited to their growing conditions.
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