Murdoch University looks into boosting genetics of bananas, pineapples, papaya, custard apples and passionfruit

Bananas, pineapples, papaya, custard apples and passionfruit are all up for an upgrade thanks to Murdoch University scientists who are establishing an advanced genomics platform.

Apart from improvements in flavour, the study seeks to help producers overcome industry challenges and improve the performance and value of the crops.

The end goal is to study the genetic material in the plants' cells to improve the quality and resilience of all five fruits.

Researchers will create a compact, cost-effective genotyping tool that will aid in the selection process of quality traits to enhance crop yield, develop climate resilience and improve fruit quality and resistance breeding applications.

The genetic information and the data generated in the project will be made available to breeders and growers through a publicly available database.

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Murdoch's Centre for Crop and Food Innovation will establish an Advanced Genomics Platform, thanks to co-investment from Hort Innovation and other partners worth $13.3 million.

In addition to this investment, MGI Australia is contributing to the project with the supply of the latest sequencing machines, worth $2.7 million, while Thermofisher Scientific is providing genotyping machines worth $1 million.

Centre director Professor Rajeev Varshney will drive the project and said Australian growers face customer demand issues along with the hinderance of a changing climate, food security and agricultural issues.

"Our state-of-the-art platform will deliver genetic solutions and the development of modern tools to identify genetic variation for improvement in these five important horticultural crops," Professor Varshney said.

Hort Innovation chief executive officer Brett Fifield said breeders will be able to identify these traits more quickly in the future, ultimately helping growers through the development of more productive varieties in shorter timeframes.

"It also has the potential to protect our food supply and provide producers with the support they need through variety development to maintain consistency in the supply of their products to retailers and exporters," Mr Fifield said.

Vice chancellor Professor Andrew Deeks said Murdoch's Food Futures Institute was committed to securing and sustaining the food bowls of the future.

"Growing enough safe, nutritious and sustainably produced food - without depleting limited land and water resources - is the challenge of our generation," he said.

"Professor Varshney is one of the world's leading agricultural scientists who has made significant contributions to food security in Asia and Africa.

"Thanks to the significant support of Hort Innovation, he can now turn his attention to these five important fruit crops as well."

Additional funding and project collaborators include Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation of the University of Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland, Griffith University and the University of Western Australia.

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