Exploring the wild almond, Prunus arabica (Olivier), as a genetic source for almond breeding.

ABSTRACT: During the process of almond (Prunus dulcis) domestication, essential traits, which gave plants the plasticity for facing unstable environmental conditions, were lost. In general, the domestication process often narrows the natural genetic diversity. Modern selections (i.e., breeding programs) dramatically accelerated this genetic bottleneck trend to a few successful almond cultivars, which are presently the founders of most commercial cultivars worldwide. The concept of utilizing wild species as a source for important traits and for the enrichment of the gene pool was deeply discussed in previous studies. However, in almonds and other Prunus species, deliberate utilization of wild species as a genetic resource for breeding programs is quite rare. To address these significant

SUBMITTER: Brukental H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11469977 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature