Rubus
The genus Rubus contains over 700 species, and is considered as one of the most diverse in the plant kingdom. Within the 12 subgenera are crop species that are important within the UK and worldwide, including red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) and blackberry. SCRI has active commercial breeding programmes for these crops, through MRS, and has produced many successful cultivars in the `Glen’ series of raspberry and `Loch’ blackberries. There are also hybrids between these types, such as `Tayberry’. Commercial raspberry production in the UK was valued at ca. £87m in 2007.
Rubus is a member of the Rosaceae, which contains other important crop species such as apple (Malus) and peach (Prunus). As well as using contemporary genetics techniques including marker-assisted selection, work at SCRI has focused on the creation of a raspberry BAC library and more recently, physical mapping.
