In a world-first, Onkar Nath completed his PhD candidacy at The University of Queensland by creating a near-complete genome sequence of Hass avocados. It is the most detailed map of the genetics of the popular fruit ever made, putting researchers across the globe closer to developing a next-generation fruit that grows better, lasts longer, and is even healthier than current varieties.
"Our Hass genome is 98 percent complete — the first in the world of such complexity," Dr Nath said. "Avocado already tastes very good, but there is still scope for improvement for many useful characteristics such as tree height, architecture, and resistance to pests and diseases. We now know which genes are responsible for which characteristic. We can now, through new research, identify opportunities for Australian growers to improve on-farm productivity and sustainability including driving efficiencies across time, labor and land."
The work, published in Horticulture Research, follows years of research at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation's (QAAFI) Centre for Horticultural Science. Director Neena Mitter: "So not only [do we have] 98 per cent of the DNA sequence, we know now that avocado has 12 chromosomes on which these genes are located."
Source: abc.net.au