Molecular tools for modern ornamental plant breeding and selection

authored by: Thomas Debener
Abstract: Though the development of sophisticated breeding strategies in ornamentals is lagging behind those for most of the agricultural crops, over the last years molecular methods have been quickly adopted. Apart from the use of molecular tools for the identification and verification of varieties two main areas are relevant for ornamental plant breeding. Marker assisted breeding utilises the information of markers linked to genes of interest to develop more efficient selection strategies. This is of particular importance where important traits are difficult to analyse or where simultaneous combinations of several genes are needed (e.g. resistance genes). In addition, the introgression of interesting target genes from wild species genomes may be more efficient with marker assisted selection against the genetic background of the wild donor species. The second area comprises techniques for genetic engineering of ornamental plants. The available gene pool for novel target genes is virtually unlimited in this area and reports on successful transformations are already available for Dianthus, Rosa, Petunia, Dendrathema, Pelargonium and many other ornamentals. For both areas the target traits are mainly centred around disease resistance, stress tolerances, delayed senescence, post harvest performance, novel colours and changed plant architecture. Of main importance for the future availability of genes both for marker assisted selection and for genetic engineering are the results from the ongoing genome projects in model organisms. These provide valuable information on the genetic architecture of flowering plants. The efforts undertaken in these projects also boosted technological developments (like e.g. microarrays, bioinformatic tools, transformation technologies) that will strongly influence ornamental plant breeding in the near future.
Organisation(s): Section Molecular Plant Breeding
External Organisation(s): Julius Kühn Institute - Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants (JKI)
Type: Conference contribution
Pages: 121-127
No. of pages: 7
Publication date: 2001
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Horticulture
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.17660/actahortic.2001.552.12 (Access: Unknown)