Transcriptional regulatory networks controlling taste and aroma quality of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) fruit during ripening

Abstract

BackgroundTaste and aroma, which are important organoleptic qualities of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) fruit, undergo rapid and substantial changes during ripening. However, the associated molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The goal of this study was to identify candidate genes for flavor compound metabolism and to construct a regulatory transcriptional network.ResultsWe characterized the transcriptome of the ‘Jianali’ apricot cultivar, which exhibits substantial changes in flavor during ripening, at 50 (turning), 73 (commercial maturation) and 91 (full ripe) days post anthesis (DPA) using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). A weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed that four of 19 modules correlated highly with flavor compound metabolism (P < 0.001). From them, we identified 1237 differentially expressed genes, with 16 intramodular hubs. A proposed pathway model for flavor compound biosynthesis is presented based on these genes. Two SUS1 genes, as well as SPS2 and INV1 were correlated with sugar biosynthesis, while NADP-ME4, two PK-like and mitochondrial energy metabolism exerted a noticeable effect on organic acid metabolism. CCD1 and FAD2 were identified as being involved in apocarotenoid aroma volatiles and lactone biosynthesis, respectively. Five sugar transporters (Sweet10, STP13, EDR6, STP5.1, STP5.2), one aluminum-activated malate transporter (ALMT9) and one ABCG transporter (ABCG11) were associated with the transport of sugars, organic acids and volatiles, respectively. Sixteen transcription factors were also highlighted that may also play regulatory roles in flavor quality development.ConclusionsApricot RNA-Seq data were obtained and used to generate an annotated set of predicted expressed genes, providing a platform for functional genomic research. Using network analysis and pathway mapping, putative molecular mechanisms for changes in apricot fruit taste and aroma during ripening were elucidated.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5424-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Analysis of Metabolites and Gene Expression Changes Relative to Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) Fruit Quality During Development and Ripening

“…To date, the dynamic changes in gene expression during fruit ripening process have been studied by whole transcriptome sequencing using HTS technologies in many related apricot species from Prunus genus including P. persica (Zhang et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2013;Pan et al, 2015;Sanhueza et al, 2015;Zhou et al, 2015;Pan et al, 2016;Wu et al, 2017;Ye et al, 2019), P. salicina (Kim et al, 2015b;Fang et al, 2016), P. armeniaca (Jo et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2017b;Zhang et al, 2019), P. mume (Du et al, 2013;Xu et al, 2014), and P. avium (Alkio et al, 2014;Wei et al, 2015) The objective of this study was the analysis of gene expression changes of fruits in two contrasted apricot genotypes during development and ripening process by using RNA-Seq and qPCR to identify candidate genes responsible for the fruit differences found between the two assayed genotypes in relation to the pomological characteristics and biochemical and metabolite contents.…”

The R2R3-MYB transcription factor PaMYB10 is involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis in apricots and determines red blushed skin

“…Apricot ( Prunus armeniaca L.) is a widely cultivated temperate fruit tree species [1] with fruit that contains many types of carotenoids and presents with orange or yellow skin. Xinjiang is one of the primary centers of apricot domestication worldwide and is also the main cultivation area in China; almost 200 varieties are cultivated in this region [2]. Among these varieties, some cultivars with a red blush on the orange or yellow background skin are particularly preferred by consumers due to their beautiful color and high nutritional value [3, 4].…”

Shotgun proteomics of peach fruit reveals major metabolic pathways associated to ripening

“…Their identi cation could help to uncover the transcription regulation that underlies the extensive changes triggered by fruit ripening. TFs associated to ripening in climacteric fruit have been identi ed in apricot [93,94], melon [95], banana [96,97], tomato [98,99], papaya [100,101,102], among others. By 2015, around 1,533 TFs were identi ed in P. persica [20], however just a few have been characterized and even less have been associated to the fruit ripening process.…”