Genomic resources for Macadamia tetraphylla and an examination of its historic use as a crop resource in Hawaii

Abstract

Macadamia tetraphylla is a wild relative of the economically valuable crop Macadamia integrifolia. Genomic knowledge of crop wild relatives is central to determining their possible role in breeding programs to mitigate biotic and abiotic stress in the future. The goal of this project was to develop a genomic resource for macadamia agriculture in Hawai i through constructing a transcriptome of M. tetraphylla and testing for hybridity in University of Hawai i at M[a]noa breeding material. The transcriptome assembly of M. tetraphylla revealed large differences in gene expression attributable to tissue type. Advanced breeding lines (HI862 and HI879) appear to be hybridized with the crop wild relative M. tetraphylla. Additionally, a putative M. tetraphylla tree sampled from a remnant orchard planting at the Waim[a]nalo research station on Oahu did not match anecdotal accounts of the orchard as it appeared to be of hybrid ancestry.