Golden Delicious DNA sequenced

An international collaboration has resulted in the Golden Delicious apple having its genetic code sequenced. This discovery comes just a week following the sequencing of wheat’s DNA. The sequencing should help in producing tastier and more disease-resistant crops.

The researchers, made up from teams in Italy, France, New Zealand, Belgium and the USA chose to study the Golden Delicious, as it is one of the most popular varieties. The study involved investigating and sequencing over 600 million base pairs of DNA.

“Now we have the sequence of the apple genome, we will be able to identify the genes which control the characters that our sensory scientists have identified as most desired by consumers – crispness, juiciness and flavour.” Said Roger Hellens of the project.

Aside from the commercial benefits that this study will yield, it has also helped in understanding the history of the apple. Most interestingly – it is now believed that the apple’s wild ancestor is from Kazakhstan and dates back 3,400 years. To discover more about the study and its future applications, please visit; http://www.applegenome.org.

Published: Monday, 30th August 2010 by Adelle Kehoe