Imagine if we could give modern apple or pear trees the 'superpowers' of their wild ancestors, like the ability to survive extreme droughts or fight off pests without chemicals. This work finds these wild relatives in nature and maps their DNA to see which traits are most valuable. It's like finding a lost family recipe for resilience and baking it into the fruits we sell in stores.
The fruit industry relies on a few high-yielding cultivars that are highly vulnerable to climate change and pests. This creates a high risk of crop failure and forces a heavy reliance on expensive, environmentally damaging pesticides.
A comprehensive genetic inventory of Malus, Pyrus, and Prunus wild relatives, including a standardized protocol for passport data and an ABS compliance system.
If you are a nursery dealing with crops that are too vulnerable to new pests and diseases — this project developed a pangenomic prediction system that identifies resilient traits from wild relatives. This allows for the creation of hardier varieties that require fewer chemical inputs.
If you are a breeding firm dealing with a narrow genetic pool of elite cultivars — this project developed marker-assisted introgression tools. This enables the precise integration of wild traits for fruit quality and resilience into commercial lines.
If you are a consultant dealing with the transition to pesticide-free farming — this project developed an online platform with genotyping and phenotyping data. This helps farmers select the best plant material for specific soil and climate conditions.
Based on available project data, the project will implement an online platform that provides genotyping and phenotyping data for free to promote use by breeders and farmers.
Yes, the project aims to integrate wild diversity into breeding programs to create more productive and resilient crops for the wider fruit industry.
The project has established a robust system for Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) compliance to ensure the legal use of germplasm.
The project runs from 2024-01-01 to 2028-12-31, though the data notes that fruit trees have long lifespans and take years to develop new varieties.
It uses a multi-actor approach involving farmers and associations to characterize plant progeny in various European soil and climate conditions.
The consortium is research-heavy with 28 partners across 14 countries, dominated by 11 research institutes and 7 universities. While the industry ratio is relatively low at 11% (3 partners, including 2 SMEs), the inclusion of farmers and forestry officers suggests a strong focus on practical application and field-testing of the genetic traits.
Contact INRAE (France) for details on the pangenomic breeding strategies.
Contact us to match your breeding program with the FRUITDIV genetic database.
