DOMESTICATING VANILLA THROUGH PLANT BREEDING AND FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS

Vanilla has potential to be among the highest grossing agricultural commodities, and could revitalize some of our distressed agricultural industry (Fig. 1). Spices like vanilla comprise a small portion of our diet, but have major impacts on the sensory quality of our food. Vanilla extract comes from the cured beans of either Vanilla planifolia or V. x tahitensis as legally defined by the FDA. V. planifolia is native to North and Central America, but Madagascar is today's leading vanilla grower. Domestic vanilla production is becoming increasingly attractive as international supplies are perennially strained and demand for vanilla extract increases as companies like MARS, Unilever, and Nestle pledge to remove artificial ingredients from their products. Most vanillin, the primary flavor component of vanilla extract, is chemically synthesized, but vanilla extract has the potential to support growers in Florida, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico striving to meet an evolving consumer base favoring local, organic, and natural products. Vanilla is somewhat unique in that the species not been domesticated through plant improvement, and today's industry relies cultivated, wild clones. Therefore, domesticating vanilla could have major impacts on productivity and profitability. The short-term goals of this project are 1) identify superior vanilla accessions for domestic commercialization, and 2) develop breeding tools for vanilla. The long-term goals and outcomes of this program are to 1) create a self-sustaining domestic vanilla industry, and 2) train field-based plant breeders.