Building a genomic toolkit to protect the navel orange

Navel oranges are the most widely grown citrus type in California. Because they are seedless, navel oranges cannot be improved with conventional breeding. As a result, this variety is particularly vulnerable to the introduction of new pests and pathogens. Recent advances in genome editing now make it possible to improve clonally propagated varieties like the navel, but accurate and timely genome editing requires prior knowledge of the genome sequence. I propose to sequence the genome of the Washington navel orange to ensure that the UCR breeding program has the tools needed to protect navels from future challenges and facilitate the continued success of this citrus variety in California.