Zhonggang Li¹ , Yeping Han²

1 Tropical Specialty Crops Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
2 Institute of Life Sciences, Jiyang Colloge of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Molecular Plant Breeding, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 4   
Received: 30 Jun., 2025    Accepted: 31 Jul., 2025    Published: 08 Aug., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This study talks about the process of durian changing from wild state to the high-quality variety we eat now. The key point is how some key genes behind these changes are selected step by step by people. The study used several methods, such as population genome analysis, whole genome association analysis, and some molecular experiments. Together, these methods help us see a problem: how humans affect some important traits of the fruit, such as taste, disease resistance and yield, when selecting durian. The study also mentioned that these changes in durian cannot be explained by a single gene. There is a complex genetic structure behind them. Some are controlled by one gene, and some may be determined by many genes together. Some are “hard selection” and some are “soft selection”, and the traces they leave on the genome are also different. In addition, newly emerged mutations and existing gene mutations often work together. In addition to artificial selection, environmental changes and consumer taste preferences have also promoted the increasing diversification of durian varieties. This study not only allows us to better understand the genetic background of durian, but also provides important ideas and genetic resources for the future improvement of durian and other fruits.

Durian domestication; Selective evolution; Trait genes; Population genomics; Variety improvement