La genomica in frutticoltura: recenti acquisizioni per il miglioramento genetico, la produzione e la qualità del frutto.

There have been notable advances in the application of molecular biology and genomics in Europe. Recent examples in Italy include the sequencing of the grapevine and apple genomes. The maps constructed from the sequenced and cloned genes represent a useful tool in plant breeding to get high quality fruit and more efficient plants, including such applications as eco-compatible methods of protection, propagation, soil and tree management aimed at reducing energy inputs. Efforts to gain greater insights into the function of individual and groups of genes, their interaction, regulatory mechanisms, the proteins they encode and their expression in a plant’s metabolic pathways should lead to a revolution in our understanding of cropping biology and make tree and orchard productivity more efficient. Transcriptomics also can help us identify differentially expressed genes to improve fruit quality and its shelf life, to understand the role of environmental and management factors and, hence, to upgrade field practices or even develop innovations. The consequence step is how to apply this knowledge for activating and silencing several genes and therefore to induce resistance to biotic stress deriving from pathogens like scab, fireblight and sharka and to abiotic stress deriving from events like drought and salinity. Molecular tools like genomics are thus bringing about a new era in our understanding of the genetics, physiology and biochemistry of plant processes and should lead to advances in the breeding of new cultivars and reverberate through the fruit industry’s supply chain.