Towards marker assisted breeding in kiwiberry: genetic analysis in Actinidia arguta

Summary

Kiwiberry is a relatively new fruit crop that is woody, perennial, polyploid, and dioecious with a long juvenile phase about 3-6 years. Many economically important traits are quantitative and are expected to be under the genetic control of numerous genes. Variation in these traits is often influenced significantly by environmental effects and measurement methods. These traits are difficult to improve using conventional breeding methods and are even more challenging for a polyploid crop. There is a need to develop marker tools to facilitate breeding in kiwiberry. However, this area has not been well studied in kiwiberry. This thesis aims to address this knowledge gap by exploring the genetic basis of fruit quality traits in kiwiberry. We developed a high-density SNP genotyping array and performed linkage mapping in a bi-parental kiwiberry population, followed by QTL mapping of important traits. The outcomes of the thesis allowed tools to be developed to improve the precision and efficiency in kiwiberry breeding.