Genome sequencing of the American hazelnut (Corylus americana Marshall), a promising endemic species for the hazelnut industry in Canada.

Sequencing C. americana genome will shed light on how the hybrid offspring of C. avellana x C. americana can become Eastern Filbert Blight (EFB)-tolerant and cold-hardy. It is well known that EFB-tolerant and cold-hardy genes can be transferred from C. americana to the resulting hybrids. However, candidate genes conferring EFB immunity and cold hardiness to both C. americana and C. hybrids have not been characterized. The objectives of this project are (1) to sequence the genome of C. americana M., (2) to perform a comparative genome analysis between C. avellana and C. americana in order (3) to identify and characterize EFB tolerant and cold hardy genes that can be exploited in breeding strategies for a successful hazelnut industry in Canada .