Plant & Animal Genomes XVI Conference Plant & Animal Genomes XVI ConferenceJanuary 12-16, 2008
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Mark A Taylor1 , Rob D Hancock1 , Pete E Hedley2 , Rex Brennan2 , Joanne R Russell2
Control of bud dormancy has considerable practical and economic significance in many horticultural crops (e.g. raspberry, blackcurrant, kiwi fruit). Woody species, grown in the UK under protection in order to meet the demand for an early season crop are often characterised by poor and uneven bud break because the chilling requirement of the buds for dormancy release has not been met. This results in a reduction in the potential yield, and also in an irregular picking season. Nursery stock producers also require a better understanding of endodormancy in woody ornamentals in order to reduce overall production time and to accurately schedule their crops, particularly in times of climate change.
Potato tuber apical buds also exhibit the phenomenon of endodormancy. However, premature dormancy break can lead to deterioration in quality during potato tuber storage due both to disease-related and physiological processes. As it is often necessary to store potato tubers for periods beyond that of natural dormancy (generally 1-15 weeks), sprouting is controlled commercially by storage at low temperatures (expensive and effects quality) and by the use of chemical sprout suppressants such as chloropropham.
Although these economic and environmental concerns have stimulated interest in dormancy release, common mechanisms that describe the processes that lead to meristem activation remains elusive.
Progress towards developing an understanding of the mechanism of bud dormancy release in both woody species (raspberry and blackcurrant) and potato, using a range of microarray and transgenic approaches will be described.