Project Manager
Galymbek Kanat
About the project
Relevance
In Kazakhstan, as in most countries of the world, the most important of the fruit crops is the apple tree. The main areas of fruit producers in Kazakhstan are the southern regions – South Kazakhstan – 18,024.6 hectares, Almaty – 16,180.7 hectares and Zhambyl region – 5,794.7 hectares. The natural and climatic conditions of these territories favor the cultivation of high-quality fruits that can withstand competition with foreign products. One of the main tasks of modern fruit crop breeding is to create varieties that, along with a complex of valuable economic and biological characteristics, are resistant to the most significant diseases. The most common and harmful disease of apple trees in Kazakhstan is considered to be scab and powdery mildew, the causative agent of which are fungi Venturia inaequalis and Podosphaera leucotricha. The decrease in the yield of apples from scab damage can be at least 40%, and in the years of mass distribution, almost the entire crop may disappear. Growing plants for resistance to the most harmful diseases has always been one of the main tasks of breeding. Therefore, optimal methods for assessing genetically determined resistance to pathogens will always be in demand. Due to the need to intensify the breeding process, it is advisable to use genetic methods.
The research of the project is multidisciplinary in nature using phytopathological, breeding and molecular approaches. The implementation of the task is connected with the organization of expedition trips in accordance with the established routes of the foothill and plain steppe zones on the territory of Turkestan, Zhambyl and Almaty regions. This stage will allow to identify the degree of disease resistance of the examined apple varieties. Screening of resistant apple varieties to fungal diseases will help to characterize isolates at different points of the examination. The use of Kazakhstani and foreign varieties will allow us to select promising varieties containing effective Rvi and Pl genes. For the first time in Kazakhstan, a molecular approach for resistance to apple disease will be used to find sources of resistance.
The applicability of the results obtained will be ensured through the use of new marker breeding technology, and the introduction of disease-resistant apple varieties will ensure the commercialization of the results. Potential consumers are farms, breeding research institutes and universities in Kazakhstan and CIS countries.
The purpose of the project
Molecular screening and selection of resistant apple varieties to fungal diseases using DNA marker technologies
Expected and achieved results
As a result of the project, the following results will be obtained:
1. The area of distribution and development of fungal diseases in the south and south-east of Kazakhstan will be determined. The development and spread of pathogens of fungal diseases of apple trees on the surveyed varieties and rootstocks of apple trees will be revealed. The development and spread of fungal diseases in industrial orchards of Turkestan, Zhambyl and Almaty regions will be determined;
2. Resistant apple varieties to fungal diseases will be identified. Field resistance will be determined in different geographical locations, such as Turkestan, Zhambyl and Almaty regions; apple varieties resistant to fungal diseases in plantations in orchards of Turkestan, Zhambyl and Almaty regions will be selected;
3. Isolates of fungal pathogens based on microbiological methods will be characterized. Based on microbiological analysis, the causative agent of scab and powdery mildew will be identified. The causative agent of the disease will also be identified using molecular markers;
4. The genes of resistance to fungal diseases in the genotypes of the apple tree will be identified. As a result of the identification of apple resistance genes, a list of apple varieties resistant to fungal diseases will be recommended. Molecular screening will be performed based on PCR analysis using 20 specific molecular markers;
5. Recommendations will be developed on the use of apple varieties resistant to fungal diseases to improve the breeding process and increase the productivity of plantations. As a result, recommendations for breeding work will be developed, allowing economic entities of the industry to grow disease-resistant apple varieties;
List of publications and patents
K. Galymbek, A.K. Madenova*, S.B. Bakirov, B.Zh. Kabylbekova, A. Irkitbay, Zh. Aitymbet, D.I. Kaldybayeva, R. Abdikarimova, Bolat Munira Monitoring the distribution and development of apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) and powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha) disease in the southern and southeast regions of Kazakhstan // Bulletin of Karaganda University Series "Biology. Medicine. Geography". №2(110)/2023.
DOI 10.31489/2023BMG2/38-45
Information for potential users
Genotyping of zoned and promising apple varieties will enable the inclusion of molecular genetic characteristics of varieties in breeding work, create genetic passports, protect breeding achievements, prepare materials for Kazakhstani varieties in accordance with international requirements for international patenting and promotion of Kazakhstani varieties on the world market. The identification of genetically resistant varieties and rootstocks of apple trees to the causative agent of scab and powdery mildew using DNA marker analysis will make it possible to bring Kazakhstan's fruit growing to a modern level, to conduct an international exchange of valuable genotypes in vitro.