Zhonggang Li¹ , Yeping Han²

1 Tropical Specialty Crops Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572026, Hainan, China
2 Institute of Life Sciences, Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Molecular Ecology and Conservation, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 1   
Received: 29 Dec., 2024    Accepted: 05 Feb., 2025    Published: 18 Feb., 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.

Yellow pitaya (yellow dragon fruit, Selenicereus megalanthus) is a tropical fruit crop with high nutritional value and economic potential. This study reviews the origin and domestication process of yellow pitaya, the global flow of germplasm resources, and the role of genetic diversity in regional adaptation and cultivation expansion. Global germplasm dissemination and hybrid breeding have greatly enriched the genetic diversity of yellow pitaya, laying the foundation for adaptability in different ecological regions. This study focused on analyzing the environmental adaptation mechanism of yellow pitaya in its native Mesoamerica, as well as regional adaptation cases in newly introduced areas such as the Indochina Peninsula, and explored the contribution of genetic variation to adaptation to different climates in terms of stress resistance, flowering and fruiting, and growth cycle. In addition, we summarized the progress of adaptive breeding and variety selection of yellow pitaya, and analyzed the main constraints facing the current germplasm utilization (such as self-incompatibility, pest and disease stress, and narrow genetic basis). We also looked forward to the prospect of expanding the opportunities of the yellow pitaya industry by expanding the cultivation area (such as greenhouse cultivation) and strengthening genetic improvement (such as polyploid breeding and molecular breeding). Finally, suggestions were made for future research directions, including the establishment of an international germplasm resource sharing platform, the development of genomic selection and biotechnology applications, etc., to promote the sustainable cultivation and industrial development of yellow pitaya.

Yellow pitaya; Germplasm resources; Genetic diversity; Regional adaptability; Breeding