Development of DNA markers for breeding yellow cherries

Abstract

Skin colors of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) are classified into 3 types, mahogany, blush, yellow. The yellow type is especially rare among cultivars, and such appearance can attract consumer's interests. Anthocyanin biosynthesis and R2R3 MYB transcription factor PavMYB10.1 have been suggested to be involved in the differences in sweet cherry skin color. Furthermore, some studies have shown that a part of the exon of PavMYB10.1 is deleted, being called MYB10.1c in the yellow type, and making the skins yellow. In this study, we designed a primer set which amplifies the region that includes the deleted part of exon from the sequence of the transcription factor in our data base and examined the effectiveness of PCR among cultivars, breeding lines and their progenies with different skin colors as a DNA marker for breeding of yellow skin cherries. As a result, the presence of MYB10.1c was confirmed in all tested cultivars and breeding lines of the yellow type and it was passed on to the following generations. Therefore, we suggested that the presence of MYB10.1c in the yellow type, which includes the deletion of a part of exon, is universal and the primer set designed in this study is effective as a breeding marker of the yellow type.