Almond

AbstractAlmond evolved in the deserts and central slopes of central and southwest Asia (present China and Iran) and was later distributed by many temperate areas all around the word. Almond is a nut fruit of high economical importance, used in various food products and exploited for its oil in pharmaceutical industry and cosmetics. Being very close to peach and otherPrunusspecies, almond can easily hybridize with these close relatives, which may have led to gene exchange in both directions. Self‐fertility and late blooming are among the most important breeding traits. Almond breeding is presently being supported by biotechnology tools, to track the self‐fertility allele in the progeny among other traits that are being mapped. Although there is not an obvious need for genetic engineering tools in almond breeding, engineering strategies have been developed and transgenic plants were regenerated usingAgrobacterium‐mediated gene transfer. This, however, is still only applicable to a couple of genotypes. At present, the most important use of genetic engineering tools in almond seems to be gene functional studies.