![]() ![]() The worldwide rose research community is relatively small. For instance, scent is a complex trait that is being studied, but it is examined by an experienced nose in a breeding programme. ![]() ![]() Although rose is an ideal model species for studying the molecular basis of these traits, they are easily examined by eye by breeders. While for large agricultural crops the primary focus is on yield and other quantitative traits for both the academic community and breeders, rose research has focussed on both characteristics that are qualitative, such as presence/absence of the ‘double flower’, and some disease resistances, and on complex qualitative traits, including flower colour, scent emission, bud outgrowth 1, floral development and vernalization response 2. Moreover, a significant gap exists between research and breeding practices, impeding the application of developed genetic tools in practice. These include its tetraploid nature, the fact that it is vegetatively propagated and that large genetic gains can still be achieved by simple crossing and selection. There is a number of obstacles to implementing molecular breeding in roses. As in most other ornamental plant breeding programmes, molecular tools have up to now rarely been used. Rose is the most well-known and beloved ornamental plant worldwide. We outline possible approaches for a number of these questions. Having access to a genome sequence will allow both (fundamental) scientific and (applied) breeding-orientated questions to be addressed. This paper presents possible lines of research now that rose has entered the genomics era, and attempts to partially answer the question that arises after the completion of any draft genome sequence: ‘Now that we have “the” genome, what’s next?’. We can now investigate how this diversity can best be exploited and refined in future breeding work, given the rich molecular toolbox now available to the rose breeding community. This vast diversity in cultivated roses can be explained through the genetic potential of the genus, introgressions from wild species into commercial tetraploid germplasm and the inimitable efforts of historical breeders. Rose cultivars are highly heterogeneous and diverse. Next to a high-quality genome sequence other genomic tools have also become available for rose, including transcriptomics data, a high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism array and software to perform linkage and quantitative trait locus mapping in polyploids. The recent completion of the rose genome sequence is not the end of a process, but rather a starting point that opens up a whole set of new and exciting activities. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |