title: Non-tenera Contamination and the Economic Impact of SHELL Genetic Testing in the Malaysian Independent Oil Palm Industry.
abstract: Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is the most productive oil bearing crop worldwide. It has three fruit forms, namely dura (thick-shelled), pisifera (shell-less) and tenera (thin-shelled), which are controlled by the SHELL gene. The fruit forms exhibit monogenic co-dominant inheritance, where tenera is a hybrid obtained by crossing maternal dura and paternal pisifera palms. Commercial palm oil production is based on planting thin-shelled tenera palms, which typically yield 30% more oil than dura palms, while pisifera palms are female-sterile and have little to no palm oil yield. It is clear that tenera hybrids produce more oil than either parent due to single gene heterosis. The unintentional planting of dura or pisifera palms reduces overall yield and impacts land utilization that would otherwise be devoted to more productive tenera palms. Here, we identify three additional novel mutant alleles of the SHELL gene, which encode a type II MADS-box transcription factor, and determine oil yield via control of shell fruit form phenotype in a manner similar to two previously identified mutant SHELL alleles. Assays encompassing all five mutations account for all dura and pisifera palms analyzed. By assaying for these variants in 10,224 mature palms or seedlings, we report the first large scale accurate genotype-based determination of the fruit forms in independent oil palm planting sites and in the nurseries that supply them throughout Malaysia. The measured non-tenera contamination rate (10.9% overall on a weighted average basis) underscores the importance of SHELL genetic testing of seedlings prior to planting in production fields. By eliminating non-tenera contamination, comprehensive SHELL genetic testing can improve sustainability by increasing yield on existing planted lands. In addition, economic modeling demonstrates that SHELL gene testing will confer substantial annual economic gains to the oil palm industry, to Malaysian gross national income and to Malaysian government tax receipts.
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Leslie C-L
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ooi
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Eng-Ti L
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Low
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Meilina O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Rajanaidu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nookiah
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ngoot C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Jayanthi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nagappan
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohamad A A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Manaf
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kuang-Lim
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohd A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Halim
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Norazah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Azizi
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Wahid
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Omar
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Abdul J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Murad
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. LouisMO, USA; Orion Biosains Sdn BhdPuchong, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lakey
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. LouisMO, USA; Orion Biosains Sdn BhdPuchong, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Jared M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ordway
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. LouisMO, USA; Orion Biosains Sdn BhdPuchong, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Favello
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Muhammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Budiman
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van Brunt
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beil
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Leininger
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Steven W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Orion Genomics, LLC, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Clyde R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Orion Biosains Sdn Bhd Puchong, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Alex C S
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Kuek
authors.affiliation: Orion Biosains Sdn Bhd Puchong, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Shabani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahrain
authors.affiliation: BALSA Group, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hoynes-O'Connor
authors.affiliation: BALSA Group, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Amelia Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: BALSA Group, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Hemangi G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Chaudhari
authors.affiliation: BALSA Group, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Shivam A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Yuen-May
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ravigadevi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sambanthamurthi
authors.affiliation: Malaysian Palm Oil Board Kajang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Rajinder
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Singh
keywords: fruit form; genetic testing; oil palm; shell; tenera