Tree Genetics and Molecular Breeding 2025, Vol.15, No.2, 80-88 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/tgmb 80 Review and Progress Open Access Genetic Studies of Punica granatum: From Molecular Markers to Trait Improvement Zhongmei Hong CRO Service Station, Sanya Tihitar SciTech Breeding Service Inc., Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding email: zhongmei.hong@hitar.org Tree Genetics and Molecular Breeding, 2025, Vol.15, No.2 doi: 10.5376/tgmb.2025.15.0010 Received: 18 Mar., 2025 Accepted: 21 Apr., 2025 Published: 29 Apr., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Hong, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Hong Z.M., 2025, Genetic studies of Punica granatum: from molecular markers to trait improvement, Tree Genetics and Molecular Breeding, 15(2): 80-88 (doi: 10.5376/tgmb.2025.15.0010) Abstract This study reviewed the significant progress in the genetic research of Punica granatum and the research on genes related to traits, introduced how high-throughput sequencing and multi-omics methods were used to identify genes related to fruit peel color, disease resistance and environmental adaptability, and also summarized the achievements of the construction of genetic linkage maps and quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. These research results provide assistance for future molecular marker-assisted breeding. This study aims to provide theoretical support and practical suggestions for the molecular breeding and germplasm resource conservation of Punica granatum. Keywords Punica granatum; Genetic diversity; SSR markers; AFLP markers; Genome-wide analysis; Trait improvement; Breeding programs; Punicalagin biosynthesis 1 Introduction Punica granatum is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree that has been cultivated by people for a long time. It originated from regions ranging from Iran to northern India and is now widely cultivated in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and some parts of Asia. Punica granatum is rich in nutrients, have medicinal value, and are also rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, making them very popular. Wild Punica granatum are also regarded as a functional food beneficial to health (Khadivi et al., 2020). Understanding the genetic differences among different groups of Punica granatum is beneficial for protecting this precious species well. Zarei and Sahraroo (2018) discovered significant genetic variations among Punica granatum germplasm resources through microsatellite labeling, which is crucial for resource conservation and breeding efforts. Genetic research can also identify traits beneficial to cultivation such as disease resistance, fruit quality and yield, which can enhance the economic value of Punica granatum. Guerrero-Solano et al. (2020) understood the evolutionary process and possible medicinal value of Punica granatum by comparing the genetic relationship between Punica granatum and their related plant Punica protopunica. This study introduces the latest progress in Punica granatum genetic research, analyzes the discovered genetic diversity and how helpful these findings are for improving varieties and protecting Punica granatum resources, and by collating the existing research results, explains how important genetic research is in promoting Punica granatum cultivation and development. This study will also explore whether the combination of genetic research and traditional breeding methods can more effectively cultivate better Punica granatum varieties. 2 Molecular Markers in Punica granatum 2.1 Types of molecular markers In the research of Punica granatum, various molecular labeling methods such as simple sequence repeats (SSR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), as well as polymorphism-based markers such as SRAP, TRAP, and ITAP have been used (Mahajan et al., 2018; Youssef et al., 2018; Sinjare and Jubrael, 2020). SSR markers are popular because they can display a lot of different genetic information, have stable and repeatable results, and can detect two alleles simultaneously (Zarei and Sahraroo, 2018; Liu et al., 2020; Patil et al., 2020; Parashuram et al., 2022).
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