Identifying sources of metabolomic diversity and reconfiguration in peach fruit: taking notes for quality fruit improvement

Abstract

The metabolomic content determines many of the important features of a fruit, such as its taste, flavor, color, nutritional value, and abiotic or biotic resistance. Peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) is one of the best genetically characterized species used as a model for Rosaceae, the drupes of which are a source of minerals, vitamins, fiber, and antioxidant compounds for healthy diets around the world. During the last few years, a great advance in the analysis of the metabolic diversity and reconfiguration in different peach varieties in response to developmental and environmental factors has occurred. These studies have shown that the great phenotypic diversity among different peach varieties is correlated with differential metabolomic content. Besides, the fruit metabolome of each peach variety is not static; on the contrary, it is drastically configured in response to both developmental and environmental signals, and moreover, it was found that these metabolic reconfigurations are also variety-dependent. In the present review, the main sources of metabolic diversity and conditions that induce modifications in the peach fruit metabolome are summarized. It is postulated that comparison of the metabolic reconfigurations that take place among the fruits from different varieties may help us better understand peach fruit metabolism and their key drivers, which in turn may aid in the future design of high-quality peach fruits.

Evaluation of the Fruit Quality and Phytochemical Compounds in Peach and Nectarine Cultivars

“…Nevertheless, fruit qualitative parameters depend on several factors (environmental conditions, cultural practices, fruit position within tree canopy, and rootstock), and a wide range of variability was found for these parameters between cultivars and, in some cases, between plants of the same cultivar (plasticity). For this reason, ranges for quality the index were defined for both different types of peaches (yellow and white) and nectarines (yellow and white-flesh) and different cultivars [3,28,[35][36][37].…”

Prunus spp. Fruit Quality and Postharvest: Today’s Challenges and Future Perspectives

“…Peaches or Prunus persica L. are stone fruits rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), carotenoids (provitamin A), minerals, fibre and antioxidant compounds, namely phenolics [33].…”

“…Distinct peach varieties were developed and are cultivated in different countries to meet different demands, namely higher yield, disease resistance and higher postharvest quality, among others [34]. This is possible, because of the high metabolic diversity of peaches, which is responsible for the variability in fruit size, texture, flavour, sweetness/acidity ratios and/or skin and flesh colour [33].…”