AdRoot: Genetic control of adventitious rooting in horticultural crops

拟议的“AdRoot”项目的目的是了解不定根的遗传控制，并确定分子标记和有益的等位基因，使不定根得到控制，有利于园艺作物的育种。不定根在植物正常发育过程中或响应于环境胁迫如洪水和创伤而从植物茎中产生。在一年生蔬菜作物中，包括茄科（番茄、辣椒）和葫芦科（甜瓜、西瓜）的嫁接作物，根系功能部分依赖于从下胚轴（基部根）或从主茎发育的不定根，这对根活力的贡献在很大程度上是不确定的。此外，多年生作物，特别是蔷薇科（包括苹果、李、樱桃、乌藨子、草莓）的繁殖依赖于从插条、匍匐茎（如草莓）和用于微繁殖的节外植体形成不定根。我们将通过分子遗传分析的程序确定控制茄科（番茄）和蔷薇科（树莓）作物不定根的遗传因素，我们将对这些关键植物家族不定根形成的遗传调控进行比较评估。从这项研究中获得的理解将适用于改进以下过程：（i）蔬菜砧木的育种以控制根（以及接穗）活力，以及（ii）确保蔷薇科家族内的新品种可以有效地繁殖。该项目将涉及一家有兴趣销售更多蔬菜砧木种子的全球种子公司，以及一家参与生产和培育新的软果品种的公司。该项目还将产生新的基因组和遗传资源，以加速树莓育种。

The aim of the proposed "AdRoot" project is to understand the genetic control of adventitious rooting and to identify molecular markers and beneficial alleles that will allow adventitious rooting to be controlled to the benefit of breeding in horticultural crops. Adventitious roots arise from plant stems during normal plant development or in response to environmental stresses such as flooding and wounding. In annual vegetable crops, including the grafted crops of the Solanaceae (tomato, pepper) and Cucurbitaceae (melon, watermelon) families, root system function relies partially on adventitious roots that develop from the hypocotyl (basal roots) or from the main stem, and this makes a contribution to root vigour which is largely undefined. In addition, propagation in perennial crops, especially from the Rosaceae family (including apple, plum, cherry, raspberries, strawberries) is dependent on the formation of adventitious roots from cuttings, runners (as in strawberries) and from nodal explants used for micropropagation. We will identify the genetic factors that control adventitious rooting in a crop from Solanaceae (tomato) and from Rosaceae (raspberry) through a programme of molecular genetic analysis, and we will conduct a comparative evaluation of genetic regulation of adventitious root formation in these key plant families. The understanding derived from this study will be suitable for improving the processes of (i) breeding of vegetable rootstocks to control root (and so scion) vigour, and (ii) ensuring that new cultivars within the Rosaceae family can be efficiently propagated. The project will involve a global seed company interested in selling more vegetable rootstock seeds, and a company involved in producing and breeding new soft fruit cultivars. The project will also generate new genomic and genetic resources to accelerate raspberry breeding.