Project Number: 1275-21000-180-04
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: May 01, 2005
End Date: Apr 30, 2009

Objective:
1. Identify and characterize gender-related genes in octoploid wild Fragaria via QTL mapping. 2. Determine the level of similarity between peach (or Prunus) and Fragaria genomes. Specifically, will markers linked to gender in strawberry amplify a product in peach or have high sequence similarity to a peach sequence? If so, and the sequence is already mapped in peach, is it near any sterility¿related, flowering, or yield loci?

Approach:
A resource of unusually great importance for strawberry cultivar development programs is wild strawberry germplasm. However, the major sources of wild germplasm are gender dimorphic species (i.e., those with male or female plants). Selection for high yielding true breeding hermaphrodites while introgressing traits unique to wild strawberry germplasm could proceed at a more rapid pace if genetic markers for gender were available. The overall goal of the project is to develop gender-linked molecular markers so strawberry breeders can fully utilize extremely valuable wild germplasm. Plans to accomplish project goals include: 1) constructing mapping populations to capture the greatest diversity of putative gender genes/alleles; 2) quantitatively and qualitatively assessing gender with respect to both female and male traits in replicated greenhouse and field plantings; 3) using both a candidate gene approach and broad coverage of the genome with microsatellite markers developed from strawberry, peach and other Rosaceae