Scientists Put National Fruit Collections To The Test

Fruit specialists at East Malling Research have completed the DNA
fingerprinting of more than 2,200 apple and 500 pear trees in the National
Fruit Collection.

The fingerprinting at East Malling Research (EMR) has been led by Felicidad
Fernndez, a molecular geneticist and plant breeder. Ms Fernndez and her
team will be publishing their results next year.

The National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, near Faversham, is owned by Defra
(the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). It is a living
record of the countrys horticultural heritage and a valuable genetic
resource for breeding programmes aiming to improve fruit quality and adapt
fruit growing to meet the challenges of climate change and the need for
sustainable production.

Working with European Collaborative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources,
the EMR team has identified a number of suitable genetic markers enabling
them to reliably distinguish between cultivars.

The unique fingerprint of each specimen in the collection is revealed using
DNA extracted from leaf samples through a technique called polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) in combination with a semi-automated Genetic Analyser.
Computer software then enables the fingerprints to be compared to identify
any duplicate cultivars within the collection.

More than 40 duplicates have been identified so far in the pears of the
National Fruit Collection. These include synonyms such as OJean de Witte
and OBlickling, and OSouthworth and OVermont Beauty as well as an
accession wrongly introduced as OAchan that has turned out to be OAutumn
Bergamot.

Duplicates in the apple collections from Brogdale are also likely to be
uncovered when all the data from the orchards have been processed.

Ms Fernndez said: The curators of the National Fruit Collection will have
to make decisions about duplicates in maintaining our definitive
horticultural heritage.

Genetic fingerprinting and analysis is a major breakthrough. Identifying
individual cultivars in the past was a very difficult, very time-consuming
task and only a handful of people ever gained the knowledge and expertise to
do it successfully.

The DNA markers which have now been established across Europe will be
extremely important for the horticultural industry and the licensing of
varieties of fruit as well as the correct identification of rootstocks when,
for example, orchards are being planted.

Ms Fernndez and the EMR team also undertake commercial fingerprinting for
growers, propagators and breeders of a wide range of fruits including apple,
pear, cherry, strawberry and raspberry.