Gene Expression of Flavanone 3-Hydroxylase (F3H), Anthocyanidin Synthase (ANS), and p-Coumaroyl Ester 3-Hydroxilase (C3H) in Tzimbalo Fruit

Abstract

The current investigation emphasises the expression of candidate genes for the future improvement of fruit quality; the objectives were to describe morphological variation on Solanum caripense Dunal (tzimbalo) ecotypes; identify gene expression of F3H and ANS; and analyse gene expression of C3H. Ecuadorian (BIO) and Peruvian (IBT) samples were utilized. Morphological descriptors for Solanum muricatum Aiton were used; RNA was isolated for identification of F3H and ANS transcripts in BIO-Ltg1 and BIO-Cyb1 through reverse transcription followed by semiquantitative PCR (RT-PCR); C3H relative expression was analysed in IBT-Lib1 for zero, five and fourteen days under influence of controlled conditions (10 ± 2 °C; 16 h day/8 h night) through reverse transcription followed by quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The cophenetic correlation (0.88) of conglomerate analysis (CA) pointed out good similarity for Ecuadorian ecotypes and two subgroups for Peruvian ecotypes. The first three principal components (PC) explained qualitatively 71.39% and quantitatively 81.34% of total variation; Fr-Flavour, Se-Diameter, Fl-CorollaColour, Fr-stripes, Fr-Length, Fr-PlacentLength and Fr-PlacentBreadth were characters that contributed more to the variability. The expression of F3H was identified in BIO-Ltg1. The expression of ANS was similar (BIO-Ltg1→48.20 ng/µL; BIO-Cyb1→36.19 ng/µL). The value of the mean fold change in C3H expression was 3.32, 4.52 and 6.24 for zero, five and fourteen days; C3H transcripts level was significantly different and increased 2.92 units after fourteen days. These results demonstrate the expression of F3H and ANS in BIO-Ltg1 and BIO-Cyb1, differential expression of C3H in IBT-Lib1, and focus the nutritional value of tzimbalo fruit.