Genetic diversity and sensory preference in pomegranate fruits. Abstract-Introduction. The aims of our study were to evaluate the genetic diversity in flavor attributes of and preferences for fresh pomegranate arils. Materials and methods. Experiments were conducted with fresh arils extracted from 18 distinct pomegranate varieties within the Israel Pomegranate Breeding Collection of the ARO. Consumer flavor acceptance tests were conducted at a commercial supermarket branch, and descriptive flavor analysis tests were conducted by a trained sensory panel. Results and discussion. Consumer flavor acceptance tests revealed wide diversity in the flavor preferences for various pomegranate varieties. Further descriptive flavor analysis tests revealed that arils from highly preferred varieties were characterized by high sweetness, moderate to low acidity levels, rich red wine and pomegranate fruity odors, low bitterness and astringency, and soft seeds. In contrast, arils from the least preferred varieties were either too sour or bitter, had low red wine and pomegranate fruity odors, or had very hard seeds. Furthermore, all "sour" varieties tested (acid content ≥ 1.8%) received low sensory preference scores, whereas "sweet-sour" and "sweet" varieties (acid contents 0.7-1.8% and ≤ 0.7%, respectively) achieved variable flavor preference scores. Overall, it is suggested that pomegranate flavor preference derives mainly from high sweetness, low to moderate acidity, rich red wine and pomegranate fruity odors, and soft seeds.
The resistance mechanism in both accessions appears to be antibiosis affecting nymph survival. These resistant accessions may be used as rootstock or as a source of resistant genes in breeding programmes.
We found great variability in chilling
tolerance among 84 pomegranate
varieties from the Newe Ya’ar collection; among them, ‘Ganesh’
was chilling-sensitive, whereas ‘Wonderful’ was relatively
chilling-tolerant. To evaluate the different molecular responses of
these varieties to cold storage, we analyzed the transcriptomic changes
in the inner membrane tissues of ‘Ganesh’ and ‘Wonderful’
fruit after 2 weeks of cold storage at 1 °C. By functional categorization
of the differentially expressed transcripts using MapMan, we found
that many transcripts related to various pathways, such as jasmonic
acid biosynthesis and signaling, galactinol, raffinose, phenol, and
phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, calcium and mitogen-activated protein
kinase signaling, lipid metabolism, and various transcription factors
and heat-shock proteins, have been massively upregulated in ‘Wonderful’
but not in ‘Ganesh’ fruit. Thus, it is suggested that
these pathways most likely participate in imparting chilling tolerance
in pomegranate fruit.
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