The Apple Genome and Epigenome

Within a span of the last two decades, sequencing technologies have rapidly evolved, allowing for the production of genome sequences from multiple angiosperm clades, including major crops and botanical models. Apple (Malus x domestica) is among the first crop genomes to be fully sequenced, thus contributing to expanded knowledge of genome structure, biological functions, trait physiology and inheritance, and leading to practical applications for crop improvement. Access to full genome sequences has also allowed for the development of new fields of investigation, such as epigenetics. With the advent of accurate and cheaper new sequencing technologies, together with high-throughput phenotyping methods, the next decade will probably see the development of projects based on whole epi/genome sequencing or resequencing, providing researchers with a firm foundation to investigate the dynamics involved in the development of traits of interest.