PULLMAN — Washington State University reports genetic research has traced the ancestor of the apple tree to a wild ancestor (Malus sieversii) that originated in the mountains of southern Kazakhstan.
WSU said that the apple’s origin is one of the questions answered in a draft sequence of the domestic Golden Delicious apple genome, published in the journal Nature Genetics.
The work involved an international team of scientists, including researchers at WSU and the University of Washington.
The research will help growers improve fruit and fight diseases in apples and related species such as peaches, pears and apricots.
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