Enhancing the Pearl: understanding the molecular genetics of pearl lustre, colour and size

澳大利亚出产一些世界上最珍贵的珍珠。然而，最近世界上充斥着大量生产的高质量淡水珍珠。这已经开始蚕食我们久负盛名的南海珍珠市场，现在给澳大利亚珍珠商带来了保持市场身份的挑战。为了应对这一挑战，我们建议通过详细了解牡蛎是如何通过基因控制珍珠生物构造的——重点是珍珠的颜色、大小和光泽——来提高养殖南海珍珠的质量和一致性。这些信息将确定珍珠牡蛎是高质量供体套组织的来源，可以用于选择性育种计划。

Australia produces some of the most valuable pearls in the world. However recently the world has been flooded with high quality mass-produced freshwater pearls. This has begun to eat into our prestigious South Sea Pearl market and now presents Australian pearlers with a challenge to maintain market identity. We propose to respond this challenge by improving the quality and consistency of the cultured South Sea Pearl through gaining a detailed understanding of how the oyster genetically controls pearl biofabrication - focusing on pearl colour, size and lustre. This information will identify pearl oysters that are a source of high-quality donor mantle tissue and that can be used in selective breeding programs.