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Genetic analysis for physical nut traits in almond

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Abstract

Almond breeding is increasingly taking into account kernel quality as a breeding objective. Although information on nut and kernel physical parameters involved in almond quality has already been compiled, the genetic control of these traits has not been studied. This genetic information would improve the efficacy of almond breeding programs. A linkage map with 56 simple-sequence repeat markers was constructed for the “Vivot” × “Blanquerna” almond population showing a wide range of variability for the physical parameters of nut and kernel. A total of 14 putative quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling these physical traits were detected in the current study, corresponding to six genomic regions of the eight almond linkage groups (LG). Some QTLs are colocated in the same region or shared the same molecular markers, in a manner that reflects the correlations between the physical traits, as well as with the chemical components of the almond kernel. The limit of detection values for any given trait ranged from 2.06 to 5.17, explaining between 13.0 and 44.0 % of the phenotypic variance of the trait. This new genetic information needs to be taken into account when breeding for physical traits in almond. Increases in the positive quality traits, both physical and chemical, need to be considered simultaneously whenever they are genetically independent, even if they are negatively correlated. This is the first complete genetic framework map for physical components of almond nut and kernel, with 14 putative QTLs associated with a large number of parameters controlling physical traits in almond.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Spanish grant AGL2010-22197-C02-01 and the Research Group A12 of Aragón. Dr. Pere Arús and Dr. Werner Howad (IRTA-CSIC, Barcelona) are thanked for their assistance in the mapping analysis with MapMaker, JoinMap, and MapQTL. Dr. Ossama Kodad is thanked for his help with the physical analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad de Fruticultura, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Av. Montañana 930, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain

    Angel Fernández i Martí, Carolina Font i Forcada & Rafel Socias i Company

  2. Laboratorio de Mejora Genética y Biología Molecular, Parque Científico Tecnológico de Aula Dei (PCTAD), Av. Montañana 930, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain

    Angel Fernández i Martí

  3. Unidad de Pomología, Estación Experimental de Aula Dei (EEAD-CSIC), Apartado 13034, 50080, Zaragoza, Spain

    Carolina Font i Forcada

Authors
  1. Angel Fernández i Martí
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  2. Carolina Font i Forcada
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  3. Rafel Socias i Company
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rafel Socias i Company.

Additional information

Communicated by A. Abbott

A. Fernández i Martí and C. Font i Forcada contributed equally to this work.

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Fernández i Martí, A., Font i Forcada, C. & Socias i Company, R. Genetic analysis for physical nut traits in almond. Tree Genetics & Genomes 9, 455–465 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-012-0566-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-012-0566-8

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