Quercus

Abstract

The genus Quercus (the oaks) is an important tree taxon and we review here several aspects of its biology relevant to domestication and summarize progress to date in breeding and improvement. The oaks are not very far along the domestication route and so wild populations are still important in the establishment and development of managed populations. We consider several aspects of oak ecology and genetics along with the challenging topic of oak taxonomy since these all influence gene pool management. We then turn to describe the successes already made in the areas of oak breeding, especially with regards to marker-assisted breeding and the development of molecular markers, linkage maps, and QTL studies. We also consider several new initiatives in oak genomics that will likely change the rate of progress in the domestication of this important group of trees.