Fruit Breeding:
Past, Present, and Future
Jules Janick
Department of Horticulture
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
Time Frame: Agriculture & Fruit Culture
10,000
Neolithic Revolution
Discovery of Agriculture
8000–5000 Second Neolithic
Revolution
Villages to Urban
communities
Origin of fruit culture
5000–3000 Bronze Age
Horticultural arts
(irrigation, vegetative
propagation, processing,
selection)
Sophisticated fruit culture
3000–2000 Greek and Roman
Antiquity
Gathering Grain, 4000 BCE. Tassili
n’Ajjer, Algeria.
Date palm flanked by gazelle,
in Egypt, 4000–3000 BCE
The Uruk Vase, Late 4th Millennium BCE
Grain & Fruit Production in Egypt, 1279 BCE
Our fruits are gifts of diversity, not results of systematic
breeding, but to unique selection events by unsung and
unremembered farmers.
Vincenzo Campi 1580
Origin of Fruit Crops
Mediterranean
basin
Date palm, fig, grape, olive,
pomegranate
Europe
Central Asia
East Asia
Plum, raspberry
Pome fruits, apricot
Banana, citrus, peach, kiwifruit,
mango, persimmon
Sycomore fig, coffee
Avocado, blackberry, papaya,
pineapple, strawberry,
Vacciniums
Africa
Americas
Fruit Domestication
Recognition of species
Selection of elite genotypes
Vegetative propagation technology
Cultivation technology
Pruning and training, irrigation, pollination, pest
control
Utilization
Storage, drying, fermentation, processing
Dispersal of fruit crops with human migration
Most fruit crops are closer to wild species than annual
crops such as grains
Commercial Apples
Elite selections from Kazakhstan
Genetic Changes Associated with Domestication
in Fruit Crops
Breakdown of
dioecy
Fig, grape, papaya, strawberry
(unchanged, date palm, kiwifruit)
Loss of selfincompatibility
Cherry
Parthenocarpy & Apple & pear, banana & plantain,
seedlessness
citrus, fig, grape, loquat,
persimmon, pineapple
Allopolyploidy
Banana & plantain, blackberry &
raspberry, blueberry, tart cherry,
European plum, strawberry
Triploidy: banana and plantain, apple,
pear
Tetraploid : tart cherry, raspberry,
blackberry, blueberry, kiwifruit
(Actinidia sinensis)
Hexaploid: European plums,
kiwifruit (A. deliciosa)
Octaploid: strawberry
Loss of toxic
substances
“Sweet” seed: almond
Non-astrigency: apple & pear,
persimmon, pomegranate
Ease of
vegetative
propagation
Offshoots: date palm
Rooting: apple (rootstock)
Nucellar embryony: citrus, mango
Loss of spines,
thorns, or
pubescence
Apple, brambles, citrus, peach, pear,
pineapple
Recent Domesticates
Kiwifruit
Vacciniums
Cranberry
Blueberry
Lingonberry
Kiwifruit
Cranberry and Lingonberry
Blueberry
Genetic Structure of Fruit Crops
Cross pollination
High heterogeneity
Asexually propagated
Large size
Long juvenility
Polyploid
Self-incompatible
Sterility and seedlessness
Apomictic
Origin of Fruit Breeding
Jean Baptiste Van Mons
(1765–1842)
Thomas Andrew Knight
(1759–1838)
Origin of Fruit Breeding
Gregor Mendel
(1822–1884)
Luther Burbank
(1849–1926)
Levels of Fruit Breeding
Primitive
Vegetative propagation of unique clones
Mass culture of superior clones
Selection of chance seedlings
Propagation of clonal variants
Conventional Recombination of elite clones
Breeding
Interspecific recombination
Backcross breeding
Mutation breeding
Biotechnology Embryo rescue
Paraplast fusion
Marker assisted selection
Transgenic breeding
Effects of Organized Fruit Breeding on the
Commercial World Industry
Negligible
Slight
Moderate Major
Banana &
plantain
Chestnut
Date palm
Fig
Grape (wine)
Lingonberry
Olive
Pomegranate
Tart cherry
Citrus
Cranberry
Hazelnut
Kiwifruit
Papaya
Persimmon
Pear
European
Pineapple
Almond
Apple
Apricot
Avocado
Pear
Asian
Pecan
Blueberry
Brambles
(raspberry &
blackberry)
Cherry (sweet)
Currants
Grape (table)
Strawberry
Peach & nectarine
Plum
Advantages of Conventional
Fruit Breeding
Evolutionary
Progress is cumulative—improved
selections serve as parents
Transgressive
Offspring can exceed either parent
Limitations of Conventional Breeding
Technical
Expensive
Long juvenile period
Large plants expensive to maintain
Difficulty of selection
Inability to preserve unique genotypes
Genetic recombination uncontrollable
(no way to induce small changes)
Linkage of desirable and undesirable traits
Restricted to natural-occurring variation or
random mutations
Limitations of Conventional Breeding
Nontechnical
Must compete with seedlings found
world-wide
Market resistance to new cultivars
Patent costs and restrictions
Testing problems
Advantages of Transgene Technology
Allows insertion of single genes without
disruption of genotype
Not limited by sexual barriers
Multigene transfer possible
Permits selection by molecular markers
(independent of development or
emvironment)
Bioengineering (vaccines, plastics, oils)
Limitations of Transgene Technology
Technical
Transformation impediments
Selection of transgene
Identification and isolation of transgenes
Chimeral problems
Expression
Shortage of suitable promoters
Testing problems
Limitations of Transgene Technology
Nontechnical
Legal problems
Consumer resistance
Banana
Evolution of Cultivated Bananas
Pineapple
Propagation of Pineapple
Spineless Mutation
Del Monte Gold
Citrus
Mandarin
Nucellar Embryony
Color Sports in Grapefruit
Interspecific Hybridization in Citrus
(Orange)
(Mandarin)
(Grapefruit)
Tangerine × Grapefruit
×
Tangelo
Minneola
Page
Tangerine × Orange
Tangor
×
Murcott
Strategies for Breeding Seedless Citrus
Ploidy Manipulation (French system)
1. Exploit Nonreduction in diploids
Chomosome counts or flow cytometry
Exploit Small seeds with embryo rescue
2. Diploid × Tetraploid crosses
3. Protoplast Fusion
Produce haploids by irradiated pollen
x+2x somatic hybridization and embryo regeneration
4. Regeneration of triploid endosperm
Induce Sterility by Irradiation (Israeli system)
Achievements at CIRAD/INRA of triploid breeding of citrus with
the 2x × 4x strategy
Stone Fruits
(Prunus)
Peach
Apricot
Almond
Plum
Cherry
Peach from Pompeii
Stoneless
Plum
(Callahan
Dardick
Scorza
JASH 1934
2009)
Synteny in Prunus & Malus
Prunus Malus
Prunus Malus
Prunus Malus
Pome Fruits
(Apple, Pear)
Barrel Sprayer
History of the PRI Program
Dan Dayton
Jules Janick
Ed Williams
Fred Hough
Ralph Shay
Sources of Scab-resistance
Sources of Resistance
Dominant Resistance
M. atrosanguinea (2 genes)
M. baccata jackii
Dolgo
M. floribunda 821
Geneva
Jonsib
M. micromalus
M. prunifolia 19651
M. prunifolia microcarpa 782-26
M. prunifolia xanthocarpa 591-25
Morton Arboretum 4, 8, 16, 1255
Russian 12740-7A (2+ genes)
Multigenic Resistance
Antonovka
M. baccata (selected seedlings)
M. sargentii 843
M. sieboldii 2972-22
M. toringo 852
M. zumi calocarpa
Defined Gene Pools
Vf
Vm
Vr
Vbj
Vb
Va
M. floribunda
M. micromalus (pit)
Russian
M. baccata jackii
Hansens’s baccata #2
Antonovka (pit)
Transferring Vf by Backcrossing
PRI Releases
Prima
Priscilla
Sir Prize
Jonafree
Redfree
Dayton
Williams’ Pride
Enterprise
Pristine
GoldRush
Scarlett O’Hara
Pixie Crunch
Sundance
CrimsonCrisp
1970
1972
1975
1979
1981
1988
1988
1993
1993
1993
2000
2002
2002
2005
Joint Releases
Viking (Wisc.)
Priam (France)
McShay (Ore.)
Primiera (Italy)
Nambu (Japan)
Constance (Ger.)
Primivera (Can.)
Juliet (France)
1969
1974
1988
1995
1994
1995
1996
1999
Prima
Redfree
Sundance
Pristine
GoldRush
Pixie Crunch
Williams’ Pride
Enterprise
CrimsonCrisp
Races of Venturia inaequalis
Race Source
1
Worldwide
2
South Dakota, USA
3
4
5
6
7
Susceptible Material
Most of the world’s cultivars
M. baccata, ‘Dolgo’, ‘Alexis’,
‘Bittercrab’ segregates of
R12740-7A, ‘Geneva’
Nova Scotia, Canada
‘Geneva’
Lafayette, IN, USA
Segregates of R12740-7A
Norwich, England
Micromalus pit type resistance,
M. atrosangunia 804
Ahrensburg, Germany ‘Prima’ (Vf cultivars) but not
Evereste’ M. × ‘Perpetu’
and M. floribunda 821
England and Europe
M. floribunda 821
Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)
Subtropical Pome Fruit
Triploid Loquat
Seedling ploidy
Diploid
Triploid
Tetraploid
Pentaploid
Mixoploid
No.
seedlings
44,828
225
50
10
26
%
99.31
0.50
0.11
0.02
0.06
Seeded diploid loquat as compared to seedless triploid
(courtesy of G. Liang)
Molecular linkage map obtained from
‘Algerie’ and ‘Zaozhong-6’
Papaya Resistant to PRSV (D. Gonsalves)
Transgenic ‘SunUp’-Hawaii (CP/CP)
Transgenic ‘Rainbow’-Hawaii (CP/-)
Transgenic ‘Khaknuan’ Thailand
Tolerant ‘Thapra 2’ Thailand
Conclusions
Our fruits are legacies of Neolithic and
Bronze Age farmers
Persistence of farmer-selected cultivars due
to unique quality factors making them
difficult to replace
Deficiencies made up by cultural techniques
and genetic changes
Future Advances:
1. Search for specific mutations (parthenocarpy
and seedlessness, breakdown of dioecy, loss of
compatibility, high sugar, loss of astringency)
2. Use of interspecific crosses to create new
fruits (Citrus, Prunus, Rubus)
3. Selection of underexploited germplasm
(pitaya)
4. Induction of seedlessness
5. Transfer of genetic resistance to diseases and
pests
6. Increased use of biotechnology
(marker assisted selection, new traits, early
flowering)
7. Emphasis on consumer satisfaction