Exploring Genotype-by-Environment Interactions of Chemical Composition of Raspberry by Using a Metabolomics Approach

Abstract

Promoting the consumption of fruits is a key objective of nutrition policy campaigns due to their associated health benefits. Raspberries are well appreciated for their remarkable flavor and nutritional value attributable to their antioxidant properties. Consequently, one of the objectives of present-day raspberry breeding programs is to improve the fruit’s sensory and nutritive characteristics. However, developing new genotypes with enhanced quality traits is a complex task due to the intricate impacts genetic and environmental factors have on these attributes, and the difficulty to phenotype them. We used a multi-platform metabolomic approach to compare flavor- and nutritional-related metabolite profiles of four raspberry cultivars (‘Glen Ample’, ‘Schönemann’, ‘Tulameen’ and ‘Veten’) grown in different European climates. Although the cultivars appear to be better adapted to high latitudes, for their content in soluble solids and acidity, multivariate statistical analyses allowed us to underscore important genotypic differences based on the profiles of important metabolites. ‘Schönemann’ and ‘Veten’ were characterized by high levels of anthocyanins and ellagitannins, respectively, ‘Tulameen’ by its acidity, and ‘Glen Ample’ for its content of sucrose and β-ionone, two main flavor contributors. Our results confirmed the value of metabolomic-driven approaches, which may foster the development of cultivars with enhanced health properties and flavor.

An Exploration of Pepino (Solanum muricatum) Flavor Compounds Using Machine Learning Combined with Metabolomics and Sensory Evaluation

“…Variations exist in the metabolite properties of the same pepino varieties grown in different regions. This context may be agricultural management or influenced by the environment [ 45 , 46 , 47 ]. This is clear from the sensory evaluation analysis of variation in three different pepino growing areas.…”

Towards smart and sustainable development of modern berry cultivars in Europe

“…They conducted multiple field experiments on strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant, and collected genotypic, phenotypic and sensory data to provide the knowledge and procedures necessary for the development of elite cultivars that maintain high yields and quality in a range of environments (Woznicki et al, 2016;Vallarino et al, 2018;Allwood et al, 2019;Labadie et al, 2019;Pott et al 2019;Vallarino et al, 2019;Pott et al, 2020a). Whereas earlier projects targeted key accessions and identified molecular markers to accelerate breeding as well as providing initial methods for sensory analysis and metabolomics, GoodBerry focused mainly on the secondary metabolites responsible for aroma, fruit quality and stress tolerance (Durán-Soria et al, 2021), while still covering environmental adaptation and genetic resources. Importantly, GoodBerry studied physiological and fruit quality traits in individuals from a biparental population planted in five European countries for a period of 3 years, highlighting the plasticity of strawberry (European Union, 2020).…”

“…For example, the metabolic response of five strawberry cultivars to three different postharvest treatments over 10 days revealed the metabolic reconfiguration of the fruit, including the depletion of major sugars and acids, a modified volatile emission profile, and the accumulation of protective metabolites (Pott et al., 2020b). Metabolomics has also been used to evaluate the effect of breeding on fruit metabolomes (Durán‐Soria et al., 2021; Vallarino et al., 2018; Zhao et al., 2019; Zhu et al., 2018). Metabolomics can profile metabolic diversity to identify: (i) accessions suitable as parents; (ii) metabolic markers for selection; and (iii) certification markers in different species to develop new strategies for crop improvement.…”

“…Metabolomics has also been used to evaluate the effect of breeding on fruit metabolomes (Dur an-Soria et al, 2021;Vallarino et al, 2018;Zhao et al, 2019;Zhu et al, 2018).…”

“…Understanding G × E interaction in berries is therefore necessary to predict growth and fruit quality, and to adapt breeding strategies for each targeted environment. The effects of G × E interactions, environment and agronomic practices on fruit quality have been investigated in strawberry (Di Vittori et al., 2018) and raspberry (Durán‐Soria et al., 2021), and also in Vaccinium species (Karppinen et al., 2016).…”