1Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Quality Biology, School of Horticulture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China 2Mt Albert Research Centre, New Zealand Institute of Bioeconomy Science Limited, Auckland 1142, New Zealand 3College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China 4Research Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crops Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xingcheng 125100, China 5National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou 450009, China 6Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China 7Research Center for Biological Breeding, Advanced Academy, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China *Corresponding author. E-mail: yuejy@ahau.edu.cn †Malik Umair Faiz,Xin Liu and Jiarui Sun contributed equally to the study.
Received: 27 Oct 2025 Accepted: 20 Jan 2026 Published online: 29 Jan 2026
Abstract
Kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) is a globally significant horticultural crop, renowned for its exceptional nutritional value and high vitamin C content. The distinctive genetic features of this genus, including a dioecious sexual system (XY/XX) and a wide range of ploidy (2x–10x), have driven substantial genomic and phenotypic diversification, thereby constituting a valuable germplasm resource for systematic breeding. Recent advances in kiwifruit genomics are transforming the field and revolutionizing our understanding of its evolution, domestication, and the genetic mechanisms underlying agronomic traits. In this review, we highlight the key achievements in kiwifruit genome research over the past decades, chronologically spanning from the initial draft genome assembly to the recent super pan–genome construction. We further synthesize how multi-omics approaches have been leveraged for fine mapping, gene discovery, and the analysis of gene expression and metabolic pathways. Finally, we discuss future research directions and breeding strategies enabled by these genomic breakthroughs, particularly through the applications of genomic selection and gene editing in kiwifruit.
