Inheritance and QTL analysis of chilling and heat requirements for flowering in an interspecific almond x peach (Texas x Earlygold) F2 population

Abstract

Blooming in temperate fruit species is triggered by chilling and heat requirements (CR and HR), with a wide range of requirements within the same species. CR for flower bud dormancy release has become a limiting factor for geographical adaptation of fruit trees in warmer regions. The present study investigated the genetic basis of CR and HR to break dormancy and flowering time (FT) in an almond x peach F2 progeny. FT, HR and CR were evaluated over two consecutive years (2015/2016 and 2016/2017). Seven out of the eight identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were found in both periods of analysis. They affected eight traits, and included a consistent QTL for breaking dormancy, CR and HR. Two of them, affecting FT and HR for FT (GDHF), colocalized in G1, and the remaining QTLs, affecting chilling and heat requirements, both influenced by dormancy breaking (DB), were located in G6. These results indicate that factors not related to DB affect flowering time in this population. Implications of the results in peach breeding are discussed.

A haplotype-resolved chromosome-scale genome for Quercus rubra L. provides insights into the genetics of adaptive traits for red oak species

“…The bud break region is syntenic to one end of P. persica chr 1 with QTLs for chill requirement and bloom date reported in a large F 2 cross ( Fan et al 2010 ; Zhebentyayeva et al 2014 ) and QTLs for bloom date and growing degree hours to flowering in a P. persica × Prunus dulcis cross ( Supplementary Fig. 4 in Supplementary File 1 ) ( Cantin et al 2020 ). Using the QTL flanking markers, we extracted 276 genes from the bud break region on chr 6.…”

Climate change impacts on temperate fruit and nut production: a systematic review

“…Novel genomic technologies developed in recent years have provided new gene mapping techniques and allowed the development of molecular markers that can accelerate the efficient deployment of beneficial alleles to new cultivars ( Lobos and Hancock, 2015 ; Iwata et al., 2016 ; Whitaker et al., 2020 ). For instance, because chilling requirements are becoming a limiting factor for cultivar adaptation in warming environments, scientists are working on identifying genes associated with bud dormancy and flowering time in temperate crops to elucidate the genetic control of these processes and develop new cultivars adapted to different climatic conditions ( Castede et al., 2014 ; Romeu et al., 2014 ; Allard et al., 2016 ; Prudencio et al., 2018 ; Cantin et al., 2020 ; Prudencio et al., 2021 ; Zhang et al., 2022 ). New technologies have also enabled the identification of the genetic regions controlling traits such as flowering time ( Ruiz et al., 2019 ; Branchereau et al., 2023 ) and bud dormancy ( Allard et al., 2016 ; Prudencio et al., 2018 , Prudencio et al., 2021 ), as well as traits related to temperature requirements for endodormancy release ( Romeu et al., 2014 ).…”

“…While a number of adaptation and mitigation strategies to cope with the effects of climate change on agriculture are being explored by scientists in warm temperate regions, many of these strategies may take as long as 10 to 20 years to be implemented ( Bruinsma, 2003 ). Promising strategies may include shifts to more suitable cultivation areas ( Drogoudi et al., 2020 ; Fernandez et al., 2020a ; del Barrio et al., 2021 ; Rojas et al., 2021 ; Noorazar et al., 2022 ; Meza et al., 2023 ), crop replacement and diversification ( Valverde et al., 2015 ; Almagro et al., 2023 ; Rezgui et al., 2024 ), the introduction of new cultivars ( Funes et al., 2016 ; Ruiz et al., 2019 ; Arenas-Castro et al., 2020 ; Cantin et al., 2020 ; Drogoudi et al., 2020 ), water management strategies ( Fraga et al., 2020 ; Aguirre-Garcia et al., 2021 ; Gutierrez-Gamboa et al., 2022 ; Lulane et al., 2022 ; Espinoza-Meza et al., 2023 ; Rojano-Cruz et al., 2023 ), and technological adaptation ( Luzio et al., 2021 ; Mazis et al., 2021 ; Rojas et al., 2021 ; Teker, 2023 ). However, as the impacts of climate change become increasingly severe, the adaptation and adoption of such strategies will require local and regional research, as well as effective governmental policies focused on the implementation of sustainable management practices and the adoption of new technologies.…”

Impact of Chill and Heat Exposures under Diverse Climatic Conditions on Peach and Nectarine Flowering Phenology

“…The chilling requirement is thus a major determinant of where a certain species or cultivar can be grown. Peach is sensitive to temperature, with cultivars showing considerable variation in chilling requirements [ 1 , 2 ]. Available estimates of chilling requirements have been difficult to compare, due to differences in the response of studied cultivars to different climates, use of unreliable chill calculation models or variation in the methodology used to determine the trees’ agroclimatic needs.…”