Excitement over the decoding of the apple genome has been tempered this week by the realisation that it will take more than a decade for its commercial impact to be felt.
Scientists at the Edmund Mach Foundation in Italy have spent two years sequencing the complete genome of Golden Delicious apples. Working with 17 other institutes from Italy, the US, Belgium, New Zealand and France, the study identified the complete set of 992 genes responsible for disease resistance.
Apples and closely-related pears - members of the Rosaceae family - have 17 chromosomes per genome, while other Rosaceae plants have only seven or nine.
The researchers tracked the change, what they term a “whole genome duplication” to around 60 million years ago.
The research team said the sequencing “has increased a thousand-fold our knowledge of this important plant, in particular its nutritional properties, environmental impact and exploration of biodiversity”.
UK scientists were among the first to applaud the researchers. Chris Atkinson, head of science at East Malling Research, said: “The team behind this project must be congratulated as it is an important advance and powerful tool. The next step must now be to determine the functionality of the genome as it is this which will aid the breeding of new varieties better placed to adapt to climate change.”
But he also sounded a note of caution as to the immediacy of the discovery’s impact. “This genetic advance will speed up the development of new breeds, but as our work with strawberries has shown, it will do so only once we understand what specific elements of the sequence do in terms of function,” said Atkinson.
Adrian Barlow, ceo of industry body English Apples & Pears, said: “We have to be careful that the potential benefits are not exaggerated and no-one gets the impression we can just breed apples with all the desired attributes based on consumer trends… this development is good but there is a lot more work to be done.”
Atkinson agreed: “Given that the genome doesn’t tell us how to breed I would still anticipate that it will take 10-20 years before this discovery fully impacts on the apples we eat.”
