03/28/08 Fruit Genes

Fruit Genes. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Having the ability of seeing the road in front of you make for safer, faster traveling. That is true even when you are talking about creating bigger and better varieties of fruit. The 4th International Rocacae Genomics Conference gathered together some 150 scientists to talk about how to utilize new research into growing fruit. Jim McFerson with the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission says that where several years ago we were just starting out, things are really moving along. MCFERSON: Progress is rapid in this area so we are going from not really understanding what many genes are doing in let's say apples, to the ability right now to identify what kind of storability an apple selection would have before the tree even fruits. It is beginning to start sounding like science fiction when we can begin to use the building blocks and get better results. MCFERSON: We can utilize markers, DNA based markers. Take DNA from the leaf of a seedling before it's fruited and predict what that apple fruit is going to be like in storage 4 or 5 years down the road. Those are the kinds of things we can do. Multiply that across other traits and genes. McFerson says that the research being done on this level is already underway and consumers will benefit. MCFERSON: I mentioned this gene about storability  so information about that gene is available to everybody so our growers now, our producers know what the profile is of every apple variety now what that gene is and we actually have breeding materials in Bruce Barrett's program at WSU Wenatchee  exciting new apple varieties that are utilizing this kind of new technology to make better selections. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.