The FruitBreedomics project aims to increase breeding efficiency in fruit tree crops like apple and peach through an integrated multi-disciplinary approach. It brings together European and international teams to develop cutting-edge breeding tools like marker-assisted breeding to create new varieties with improved traits like disease resistance and fruit quality that can be grown sustainably. The project will improve understanding of key traits, accelerate the breeding cycle, and efficiently identify marker-trait associations to provide genetic resources to support future breeding programs.

1. The new EU project FruitBreedomics*: an
integrated approach for increasing breeding
efficiency in fruit tree crops
Laurens F.1, Aranzana M.J. 2, Arus P. 2, Bassi D. 3, Bonany J. 4, Corelli L. 5, Diep B. 6, Durel C-E1,
Pascal T. 7, Patocchi A. 8, Peil A. 9, Quilot B. 7, Salvi S. 10, Vecchietti A. 11, van de Weg E12
1- INRA Angers-Nantes ,Genetics and Horticulture (GenHort) JRU, Beaucouzé, France 7- INRA Avignon- Fruit and Vegetable Genetics and Breeding Unit, Avignon, France
2- IRTA Cabrils (Barcelona), Spain 8- ACW Research Station, Wädenswil, Switzerland
3- University of Milano, Dipartimento di Produzione Vegetale , Milano, Italy 9- JKI Institute for Breeding Research on Horticultural and Fruit Crops, Dresden , Germany
4- IRTA Mas Badia -La Tallada- Spain 10- FEM. IASMA Research Centre, San Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy
5-University of Bologna, Dipartimento Colture Arbore , Bologna, Italy 11-Parco Tecnologico Padano , Lodi, Italy
6- INRA Transfert, Paris, France 12-DLO.Plant Research International, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Context: The European fruit industry is facing economic challenges imposed by increasingly fierce international
competition and decreasing fruit consumption, societal demand for a more sustainable production, and biological
problems caused by climate change. Releasing new cultivars that meet these challenges is a major goal of all European
breeding programmes. However, response to address them has been slow due to the nature of fruit tree breeding: long
term, low efficiency and hence high cost.
Overall goal and scientific objectives: Participant name Country
An international consortium gathering European and non European Institut National de la Recherche
teams has designed FruitBreedomics to bridge the gap between Agronomique (INRA) FRA
Agricultural Research Organisation (ARO) ISR
scientific genetics research and application in breeding. The project Agro Selection Fruits (ASF) FRA
will focus on apple and peach, two major fruits in Europe, but the Better3Fruit (B3F) BEL
Centre wallon de recherches agronomiques
tools and the knowledge gained will also benefit other species of the (CRA-W) BEL
Rosaceae family. Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione
The aim of FruitBreedomics is to provide the European fruit tree in Agricoltura (CRA) ITA
Daniele Neri Vivai (DNV) ITA
sector with cutting-edge breeding tools for the efficient and Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule
accelerated creation of new apple and peach varieties with excellent Zürich (ETH-Z) CHE
Eidgenössisches Volkswirtschaftsdepartment
fruit quality characteristics, improved resistances to diseases and (EVD) CHE
pests, and that can be grown in sustainable agriculture systems in Fundazione Edmund March (FEM) ITA
Inra Transfert (IT) FRA
the context of climate change. A major breeding tool to be Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia
developed is a validated pipeline for Marker Assisted Breeding and Agroalimentàries (IRTA) ESP
its implementation in ongoing commercial breeding programs. Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI) DEU
Novadi S.A.R.L FRA
Towards this, the efforts will be directed to improve our Parco Tecnologico Padano S.R.L (PTP) ITA
understanding of the genetics of some major horticultural traits, Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology
Holovousy Ltd.(RBIPH) CZE
develop innovative research tools to accelerate the breeding cycle, Rusticas del Guadalquivir (RDG) ESP
and efficiently find marker trait associations in breeding and Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek
(DLO) NLD
GeneBank germplasm. Additionally, the project aims at increasing Università degli Studi di Milano (UMIL) ITA
the accessibility of breeders to the genetic diversity present in Università di Bologna (UNIBO) ITA
GeneBank germplasm collections, thus contributing to widening the University of Reading GBR
genetic basis of cultivated fruit trees. The collected data will provide
precious genetic information on the pool of genitors and founders to Agricultural Research Council (ARC) ZAF
New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food
be used in future breeding programmes. Research Limited (PFR) NZL
Washington State University (WSU) USA
Zhejiang University (ZJU) CHN
Structure/organization :
Concept: FruitBreedomics will use a
multidisciplinary approach that includes
genetics, genomics, ecophysiology and
bioinformatics, and will liaison international
partners with complementary expertises.
From its start, the consortium aims at setting
up a collaborative European network of
breeders, GeneBank curators and industry
representatives with the aim of rapidly and
widely disseminating and implementing the
obtained results among all interest
European stakeholders.
Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank all the participants of the FruitBreedomics consortium who contributed to the redaction of this project.
Nom et date du congrès under negotiation; it will only be funded by FP7 if the outcome of the negotiations with the European Commission is positive. This publication does
*FruitBreedomics is still
Adresse mail du contact du poster Commission's views.
not necessarily reflect the European