Peach DNA unraveled
By Peter Kent
A peach tree at the Musser Fruit Research Farm has had its entire DNA sequenced, enabling further research to identify beneficial traits to grow better trees and fruit.
This genome sequence is the culmination of an extensive research program pioneered at Clemson under the leadership of Bert Abbott, who holds the Robert and Lois Coker Trustees Chair in Molecular Genetics. The research goal is to establish the peach as a model for identifying and understanding genes that are critical for deciduous tree growth and development.
“The tree providing the DNA for the sequencing effort was chosen after careful analysis of DNA from specific trees in the Musser orchard,” said Abbott. “The choice of this tree was crucial to the overall success of the project, and the extremely high quality of the peach genome sequence assembly is a direct result of this choice.”
Who doesn't like the taste of the very best fresh fruit, including peaches, pears and strawberries? Recent genetic research by scientists from Clemson University in South Carolina may improve the quality of fruit available to all of us.
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