Genomics and Genetic Improvement of Health Promoting Constituents of Blueberry

Unique phenolic profiles in blueberries (anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and stilbenes) are increasingly implicated in numerous health benefits, and multiple clinical studies are currently underway to further demonstrate their impact on diabetes, macular degeneration, age-related dementia, and other chronic diseases. The free radical scavenging and antioxidant capacity of phenolics was traditionally thought to be the exclusive mechanism by which these compounds affected human health. Recent studies, however, suggest that apoptosis, anti-inflamation, modulation of the MAPK signaling pathway, enhanced induction of xenobiotic detoxification enzymes, and other mechanisims are mediated by the unique phenolic profiles in these fruits. A seven-fold variation of total anthocynanins as well as differences in individual anthocyanin profiles have been observed among cultivated blueberries grown over multiple years in North Carolina, which suggests that the potential exists to breed blueberry for enhanced or modified anthocyanin profiles. In addition, recent genomic resources generated from our lab have produced over 43,000 new SSR markers, estimates of population structure in blueberry, and several potential polyphenolic structural and regulatory MYB candidate genes; all of which should greatly facilitate our progress in this effort.