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. 2022 Jan 5:9:uhab040.
doi: 10.1093/hr/uhab040.

Pear genetics: Recent advances, new prospects, and a roadmap for the future

Jiaming Li  1 , Mingyue Zhang  2 , Xiaolong Li  1 , Awais Khan  3 , Satish Kumar  4 , Andrew Charles Allan  5 , Kui Lin-Wang  5 , Richard Victor Espley  5 , Caihong Wang  6 , Runze Wang  1 , Cheng Xue  2 , Gaifang Yao  7 , Mengfan Qin  1 , Manyi Sun  1 , Richard Tegtmeier  3 , Hainan Liu  1 , Weilin Wei  1 , Meiling Ming  1 , Shaoling Zhang  1 , Kejiao Zhao  1 , Bobo Song  1 , Jiangping Ni  1 , Jianping An  2 , Schuyler S Korban  8 , Jun Wu  1
Affiliations

Pear genetics: Recent advances, new prospects, and a roadmap for the future

Jiaming Li et al. Hortic Res. .

Abstract

Pear, belonging to the genus Pyrus, is one of the most economically important temperate fruit crops. Pyrus is an important genus of the Rosaceae family, subfamily Maloideae, and has at least 22 different species with over 5000 accessions maintained or identified worldwide. With the release of draft whole-genome sequences for Pyrus, opportunities for pursuing studies on the evolution, domestication, and molecular breeding of pear, as well as for conducting comparative genomics analyses within the Rosaceae family, have been greatly expanded. In this review, we highlight key advances in pear genetics, genomics, and breeding driven by the availability of whole-genome sequences, including whole-genome resequencing efforts, pear domestication, and evolution. We cover updates on new resources for undertaking gene identification and molecular breeding, as well as for pursuing functional validation of genes associated with desirable economic traits. We also explore future directions for "pear-omics".

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A schematic diagram of divergence time and an evolutionary model of multiple plant species, including Pyrus, as well as a model of the domestication of Asian and European pears. (A) Divergence time of nine species, including Vitis vinifera, Malus × domestica, Pyrus communis, Pyrus bretschneideri, Prunus persica, Fragaria vesca, Populus trichocarpa, Carica papaya, and Arabidopsis thaliana. The estimated divergence times (MYA) are inferred based on single-copy orthologous groups and shown at each node. WGD, whole genome duplication. (B) An evolutionary model of wild and cultivated pear species [28]. (C) A schematic representation of the independent domestication process of Asian and European pears along with subsequent modern breeding efforts for cultivar improvement. The domestication process of pear has experienced a weak bottleneck resulting in slightly reduced diversity, while the improvement process shows significantly reduced diversity; thus, new efforts for restoring diversity are extremely urgent in the genetic improvement of pear cultivars.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A pipeline for genomic selection
Figure 3
Figure 3
A proposed mechanism of stone cell development in pear fruit 4CL: 4-coumarate CoA ligase; C3H: p-coumaroyl shikimate 3’-hydroxylase; C4H: cinnamate 4-hydroxylase; CAD: cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase; CCOMT: caffeoyl CoA O-methyltransferase; CCR: cinnamoyl CoA reductase; COMT: caffeic acid O-methyltransferase; F5H: ferulic 5-hydroxylase; HCT: hydroxycinnamoyl transferase; LAC: laccase; PAL: phenylalanine ammonia lyase; POD: peroxidase; SCW: second cell wall.
Figure 4
Figure 4
A proposed mechanism for fruit skin color development in pear ANS: anthocyanidin synthase; bZIP: basic region/leucine zipper; 4CL: 4-coumarate coenzyme A ligase; ABC: ATP-binding cassette transporter; ANR: anthocyanidin reductase; AP2/ERF: ethylene response factor/pathogenesis-related transcription factor; BAN: BANYULS; BBX: B-Box; bHLH: basic-helix-loop-helix; C4H: cinnamate 4-hydroxylase; CAD: cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase; CCR: cinnamoyl Co A reductase; CHI: chalcone isomerase; CHS: chalcone synthase; COP1: CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1; CRY: cryptochrome; DFR: dihydroflavonol 4-reductase; F3H: flavanone 3-hydroxylase; FLS: flavonol synthase; GST: glutathione S- transferase; HY5: ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5; LAR: leucoanthocyanidin reductase; MATE: multidrug and toxic compound extrusion; MYB: v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog; PAL: phenylalanine ammonialyase; POD: peroxidase; UFGT: UDP-glucose; flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase; WD40: WD repeat protein; and WRKY: WRKYGQK domain.
Figure 5
Figure 5
A proposed mechanism of sugar accumulation in pear fruit ADPase: ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase; ADPG: ADP-glucose; FRK: fructokinase; Fru: fructose; G1P: glucose-1-phosphate; G6P: glucose-6-phosphate; Glu: glucose; HXK: hexokinase; HT: hexose transporter; Ivr: invertase; PGM: phosphoglucomutase; SBE: starch branching enzyme; SDE: starch debranching enzyme; Sor: sorbitol; SOT: sorbitol transporter; SOX: sorbitol oxidase; SPS: sucrose phosphate synthase; SUS: sucrose synthase; SS: starch synthase; Suc: sucrose; SUT: sucrose transporter; tMT: tonoplast monosaccharide transporter; UDP: uridine diphosphate; and UDPG: UDP-glucose.
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