My scientist reveals the genetic code for the flavor shape of peach fruit.

Restricted by the characteristics of long growth cycle of fruit trees, at present, only key genes of individual traits have been identified on peach, and molecular marker-assisted breeding has also progressed slowly. In recent years, the peach resource and breeding innovation team led by Wang Lirong, a researcher of Zhengzhou Institute of Fruit Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Tian Zhixi research team of Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences have jointly completed the association analysis between peach genome re-sequencing and important agronomic traits. Relevant achievements were published online in Nature-Communication on August 8.

Industry experts believe that the study is not only important for agronomic applications, but also helps explain how early domestication and modern breeding processes affect the genome of this important fruit. The researchers first completed the resequencing of 129 accessions, identified more than 4 million high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms, and then conducted preliminary association analysis on 12 traits that affect peach fruit taste and appearance. In order to increase the reliability, the association loci of some traits were verified on 345 new accessions. The results showed that 9 of the 10 quality traits were consistent with the previous results of linkage analysis, and some traits (such as sticky nucleus and meat quality) were even directly mapped to key genes. Interestingly, the researchers found that a mutation at one of the 240 million bases in the peach genome may have caused the peach to mutate from round to the flat shape now common on the market. The researchers also predicted key genes for fruit non-acid/acid content, fruit coat presence/absence, pulp color (white/yellow), kernel flavor (bitter/sweet) and two flower traits, and discussed candidate genes selected during domestication and breeding.

"Relevant evidence suggests that genes controlling peach fruit flavor seem to have been selected mainly during long-term domestication of wild peaches by Chinese farmers, while genes associated with fruit size increase are associated with recent crossbreeding." More importantly, through our research, the breeding cycle of some peach traits can be shortened from the current 10 - 15 years to 1 - 3 years." Cao Ke, the first author of the paper and associate researcher of Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said. (Reporter Zhang Lei Yang Shu)