Drupe fruits, including peach, cherry, and apricot, are of considerable economic importance worldwide. However, their cultivation is increasingly challenged by biotic and abiotic stresses, alongside escalating consumer demand for high-quality fruit. Germplasm improvement is therefore critical for developing resilient and superior cultivars. Historically, conventional breeding has enabled progress but is constrained by slow cycles and the polygenic nature of key traits. Recent biotechnological advances—most notably in genomics, molecular marker-assisted selection, and gene editing—have transformed the breeding landscape, accelerating trait identification and incorporation. Despite these advancements, gaps remain in fully elucidating the genetic basis of complex quality and stress tolerance traits, and in implementing these technologies efficiently in breeding programs.

This Research Topic aims to address the major challenges in improving fruit quality and stress resilience in drupe fruits. The emphasis is on traits valued by both consumers and producers, such as flavor, nutritional content, shelf life, and resistance to environmental and biological stress. A key goal is to explore how cutting-edge genomic tools—including genome sequencing, molecular markers, and CRISPR-based gene editing—can be integrated to expedite the breeding of varieties with desirable agronomic characteristics. By assembling innovative research, this topic seeks to delineate strategies that advance the development of high-quality, climate-resilient drupe fruit varieties and promote sustainable production systems.

The scope of this Research Topic is focused on leveraging advanced genomic and biotechnological approaches for germplasm improvement in drupe fruits, without extending to unrelated crop species. To gather comprehensive insights into this field, we welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

o Genetic and molecular dissection of key fruit quality traits (e.g., sugar metabolism, texture, aroma, nutritional compounds)

o Mechanistic studies on abiotic and biotic stress tolerance and the identification of related genes

o Application of marker-assisted selection, genomic prediction, and gene editing (e.g., CRISPR-Cas) in precision breeding

o Integration of multi-omics approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics) for rapid trait discovery

o Development and utilization of novel germplasm resources and pre-breeding strategies

We are particularly interested in high-quality manuscripts that present novel insights and offer practical strategies for developing resilient, high-quality drupe fruit varieties.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Advances in Germplasm Improvement and Breeding Innovation in Drupe Fruits