Mango Functional Genomics

Abstract

Not AvailableMango, one of the most relished fruits globally, has attracted the attention of the global research community for breeding new varieties and hybrids utilizing the naturally existing diverse genetic resources. Functional genomics approaches are useful in mango for expediting the trait-specific varietal improvement through precision breeding programs. This chapter presents the status of functional genomics resources in mango that are available in public domain and their applications in trait mapping as well as in breeding for specific target traits such as enhanced shelf-life, attractive peel color and fruit quality traits, regularity in bearing, malformation and abiotic stress tolerance. The methods, tools, and techniques used in functional genomics, such as transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, are detailed in this chapter with examples. The traditional or conventional approaches in transcriptional and translational levels of expression profiling are discussed in this chapter with illustrations. Till date, 19 transcriptome data sets based on RNA sequencing have been deposited in the NCBI sequence repository which includes whole transcriptome analysis data of different tissues such as flowers, panicles, leaves, fruit pulp, peel, and roots pertaining to different commercial cultivars from various mango functional genomics working groups. Despite non-availability of mango genome sequence in public domain, transcriptomics have provided leads in marker development and also for augmentation of genomic resources. Classical examples and illustrations on the functional genomics studies in trait mapping have also been discussed in detail. Various aspects of functional analysis of genes in terms of full-length cDNAs, EST resources, identification of key candidate genes for specific traits from transcriptome, proteome and metabolic approaches, their cloning and expression analysis, and genetic transformation have also been summarized. This chapter also highlights on the challenges, possible solutions, and future prospects of functional genomics in mango.