Abstract
Consumption of fresh fruit is known to protect against non-communicable diseases due to the fruit's content in compounds with an antioxidant capacity, among them is polyphenols. Asian plums (Prunus salicina L.) accumulate more than 40 phenolic compounds, with a remarkable diversity in their profiles, depending on the variety and environmental conditions. Although candidate genes have been indicated to control this trait, the loci controlling its phenotypic variation have not yet been defined in this species. The aim of this work was to identify the quantitative trait Loci (QTL) controlling the phenolic compounds content in the Asian plum skin and flesh. Using UHPLC-DAD-Orbitrap-MS, we determined that cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside are the main anthocyanins in Asian plums. Other anthocyanins found to a lesser extent were tentatively identified as cyanidin bound to different sugar and procyanidin moieties. Then we phenotyped fruits of 92 and 80 F1 seedlings from the cross < “98.99” × “Angeleno”> (98 Ang) for two harvest seasons. We used HPLC-DAD to quantify single anthocyanin and spectrophotometric techniques to determine the total content of phenols, flavonoids, procyanidins, and antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP). To determine the phenotype-genotype association of phenolic compounds content, phenotypic values (adjusted by linear mixed-effects models), genotypic data and linkage maps were analyzed with the multiple QTL model (MQM) approach. We found a total of 21 significant trait-marker associations: 13 QTLs segregating from “98.99” and 8 QTLs from “Angeleno.” From these associations, 8 corresponded to phenolic compound content in the flesh and 13 in the skin. Phenotype variance was explained by the detected loci, ranging from 12.4 to 27.1%. The identified loci are related to the content of cyanidin-3-glucoside (LG4), cyanidin-3-rutinoside (LG4), total flavonoids and procyanidins (LG5 and LG8), and minor anthocyanin compounds (LG3 and LG4). These results will help improve the efficiency of breeding programs for the generation of Asian plum varieties with high phenolic compound content.
Highlights
Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is essential for healthy nutrition since they constitute notable sources of phytonutrients and bioactive compounds, in addition to the energy and fiber intake (Pereira and Ludwig, 2001; Shulaev et al, 2008; WHO, 2018)
We determined the content of phenolic compound families, single anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity in fruits of the Asian plum cultivars “98.99,” “Angeleno,” and the progeny from their cross (98Ang)
According to Diaz-Mula et al (2009) and Gil et al (2002), the total phenolic content determined in four cultivars for each work ranged from 38 to 124 and 163 to 521 mg GAE/100-g
Summary
Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is essential for healthy nutrition since they constitute notable sources of phytonutrients and bioactive compounds, in addition to the energy and fiber intake (Pereira and Ludwig, 2001; Shulaev et al, 2008; WHO, 2018). Phenolic compounds are produced in different organs and are associated with several processes, such as tissue pigmentation (Howell, 1974; Konczak-Islam et al, 2003), the resistance to biotic and abiotic stress (Howell, 1974; Beckman, 2000; Jeandet et al, 2002), the attraction of pollinators (Jakubska et al, 2005; Zhang et al, 2016), and are essential components of the cell wall (Naczk and Shahidi, 2004; Ogah et al, 2014) These compounds are characterized by having at least one aromatic ring attached to one or more hydroxyl groups, allowing an electron to be delivered to the reactive oxygen species (ROS), neutralizing them. The daily consumption of fruit with a high content of phenolic compounds is strongly related to human health benefits since they exert a protective quality against diseases associated with cellular oxidative stress and aging, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and Parkinson’s, among others (Haminiuk et al, 2012; Jaiswal et al, 2013; Verdu et al, 2014)
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