Abstract
Fruit quality traits play a significant role in consumer preferences and consumption in blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L). The objectives of this study were to construct a high-density linkage map and to identify the underlying genetic basis of fruit quality traits in blueberry. A total of 287 F1 individuals derived from a cross between two southern highbush blueberry cultivars, ‘Reveille’ and ‘Arlen’, were phenotyped over three years (2016–2018) for fruit quality-related traits, including titratable acidity, pH, total soluble solids, and fruit weight. A high-density linkage map was constructed using 17k single nucleotide polymorphisms markers. The linkage map spanned a total of 1397 cM with an average inter-loci distance of 0.08 cM. The quantitative trait loci interval mapping based on the hidden Markov model identified 18 loci for fruit quality traits, including seven loci for fruit weight, three loci for titratable acidity, five loci for pH, and three loci for total soluble solids. Ten of these loci were detected in more than one year. These loci explained phenotypic variance ranging from 7 to 28% for titratable acidity and total soluble solid, and 8–13% for pH. However, the loci identified for fruit weight did not explain more than 10% of the phenotypic variance. We also reported the association between fruit quality traits and metabolites detected by Proton nuclear magnetic resonance analysis directly responsible for these fruit quality traits. Organic acids, citric acid, and quinic acid were significantly (P < 0.05) and positively correlated with titratable acidity. Sugar molecules showed a strong and positive correlation with total soluble solids. Overall, the study dissected the genetic basis of fruit quality traits and established an association between these fruit quality traits and metabolites.
Highlights
Blueberries are well recognized as a rich source of health-promoting phytochemicals, which have in part contributed to a rapid increase in consumer demand and production over the past 15 years[1,2,3,4]
Similar levels of trait variability were observed for three years, with an approximate 1.7, 2, 6 and 10-fold phenotypic variation for pH, total soluble solid content (TSS), FW and titratable acidity (TA), respectively (Supplementary Table 1)
High-density linkage map construction High-density genetic maps are a prerequisite for the precise identification, dissection, and quantification of Quantitative trait loci (QTL) and map-based gene cloning, and are useful for genomic–assisted breeding[15,21,22,26]
Summary
Blueberries are well recognized as a rich source of health-promoting phytochemicals, which have in part contributed to a rapid increase in consumer demand and production over the past 15 years[1,2,3,4]. Mengist et al Horticulture Research (2021)8:169 studies in blueberry reported that fruit quality (FQ) traits, including size (FW), total soluble solid content (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and texture influence consumer preferences[1,2,3,4,9,10,11,12,13]. Consumers cited flavor and sweetness as positive characteristics, and TSS and TA as the most and least important characteristics associated with overall consumer preferences for blueberries, respectively[4,14]. Sweet berries do not necessarily have high sugar content, instead they may retain lower level of acids, which results in the higher the sugar/organic acid ratio[4,13,14]
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