High-density linkage map construction and identification of loci regulating fruit quality traits in blueberry

Abstract

Fruit quality traits play a significant role in consumer preferences and consumption in blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L). The objectives of this study were to construct a high-density linkage map and to identify the underlying genetic basis of fruit quality traits in blueberry. A total of 287 F1 individuals derived from a cross between two southern highbush blueberry cultivars, ‘Reveille’ and ‘Arlen’, were phenotyped over three years (2016–2018) for fruit quality-related traits, including titratable acidity, pH, total soluble solids, and fruit weight. A high-density linkage map was constructed using 17k single nucleotide polymorphisms markers. The linkage map spanned a total of 1397 cM with an average inter-loci distance of 0.08 cM. The quantitative trait loci interval mapping based on the hidden Markov model identified 18 loci for fruit quality traits, including seven loci for fruit weight, three loci for titratable acidity, five loci for pH, and three loci for total soluble solids. Ten of these loci were detected in more than one year. These loci explained phenotypic variance ranging from 7 to 28% for titratable acidity and total soluble solid, and 8–13% for pH. However, the loci identified for fruit weight did not explain more than 10% of the phenotypic variance. We also reported the association between fruit quality traits and metabolites detected by Proton nuclear magnetic resonance analysis directly responsible for these fruit quality traits. Organic acids, citric acid, and quinic acid were significantly (P < 0.05) and positively correlated with titratable acidity. Sugar molecules showed a strong and positive correlation with total soluble solids. Overall, the study dissected the genetic basis of fruit quality traits and established an association between these fruit quality traits and metabolites.

Dissecting the genetic basis of bioactive metabolites and fruit quality traits in blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.)

“…Acylation of anthocyanins is the process of adding an acyl group to the anthocyanins, which increases color stability, reduces their sensitivity to pH change, sulfite bleaching, and thermal degradation (Giusti and Wrolstad, 2003) and could be involved in bioaccessibility and bioavailability of anthocyanins (McDougall et al, 2007;Correa-Betanzo et al, 2014;Wiczkowski et al, 2016;Mengist et al, 2020a). In this study, the two major-effect loci identified on chromosomes 2 and 4 control 50% of the phenotypic variation in this mapping population.…”

“…Our previous studies demonstrated that acylation and glycosylation are important variables for clustering accessions into different groups, and CHA concentration, anthocyanin concentration and profiles had a moderate to high heritability (Mengist et al, 2020a,b). Our recent study revealed that acylated anthocyanins have higher bioaccessibility than non-acylated anthocyanins (Mengist et al, 2020a), suggesting that consumption of blueberry with high acylated anthocyanin could increase absorption of these bioactives. Furthermore, acylated anthocyanins have higher color stability than the counterpart non-acylated anthocyanins, which is particularly relevant for the application of anthocyanin as a natural colorant in the food industries (Matera et al, 2015;Zhao et al, 2017;Strauch et al, 2019).…”

“…FQ traits including TSS, pH and TA were evaluated with the same procedures as described in (Mengist et al, 2020a(Mengist et al, ,b, 2021. Briefly, the berries were homogenized to a puree in a Waring Commercial Blender 7012 G (Torrington, CT, United States).…”

“…Furthermore, blueberries are consumed in both fresh and processed forms (e.g., frozen, dried, preserves) allowing integration in consumer diets for highest potential impact. Given their importance, multiple studies have evaluated the anthocyanin concentration and composition and CHA concentration in blueberry and their nutrigenomic properties (Grace et al, 2019;Mengist et al, 2020aMengist et al, , 2020b opening opportunities and rationale to breed to these traits in blueberry. Breeding for anthocyanin concentration and profile as well as other bioactives like CHA depends on the availability of genetic variation for the trait within the germplasm.…”

Genome-Wide Identification of Loci Associated With Phenology-Related Traits and Their Adaptive Variations in a Highbush Blueberry Collection

“…For example, in tetraploid blueberry, which is believed to exhibit polysomic inheritance (Cappai et al, 2020), previous studies succeeded in detecting genomic regions related to fruit quality, such as fruit size and scar diameter (Ferrão et al, 2018), and volatile organic compounds (Ferrão et al, 2020). In addition to GWAS, linkage map construction and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping have been conducted in tetraploid blueberry populations, providing novel information on the genetic regulation of fruit firmness (Cappai et al, 2020) and fruit quality (Mengist et al, 2021).…”