Abstract
Six strawberry genotypes were examined for fruit yield and size, important chemical traits (sugars, phenolics, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, volatiles) and antioxidant properties (ferric reducing power). In addition, we determined the expression of genes and transcription factors (SAAT, FaNES1, FaFAD1, FaEGS2, FaEOBII and FaMYB10) controlling the main flavor and aroma traits, and finally evaluated the effect of the genotype and harvest time on the examined chemical and genetic factors, as well as their intercorrelations. The commercial varieties ‘Fortuna’, ‘Victory’, ‘Calderon’, ‘Rociera’, and two advanced selections Ber22/6 and Ber23/3 were cultivated under the same conditions at Berryplasma World Ltd. plantations (Varda, Ilia, Region of Western Greece). Strawberries were harvested at three different time points over the main harvest period in Greece, i.e., early March (T1), late March (T2) and late April (T3). ‘Fortuna’ exhibited the highest early and total yield, while ‘Calderon’, the highest average berry weight. General Linear Model repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that the interaction of the genotype and harvest time was significant (p < 0.001) on all tested quality attributes and gene expression levels, showing that each genotype behaves differently throughout the harvest period. Exceptions were observed for: (a) the volatile anhydrides, fatty acids, aromatics and phenylpropanoids (all were greatly affected by the harvest time), and (b) lactones, furaneol and FaEGS2 that were affected only by the genotype. We observed significant intercorrelations among those factors, e.g., the positive correlation of FaFAD1 expression with decalactone and nerolidol, of SAAT with furaneol, trans-cinnamic acid and phenylpropanoids, and of FaEGS2 with decalactone and FaFAD1. Moreover, a strong positive correlation between SAAT and FaMYB10 and a moderate negative one between SAAT and glucose were also detected. Those correlations can be further investigated to reveal potential markers for strawberry breeding. Overall, our study contributes to a better understanding of strawberry physiology, which would facilitate breeding efforts for the development of new strawberry varieties with superior qualitative traits.
Highlights
The sugar content in was constant the results suggest that fructose and/or sucrose are overproduced at T2 contributing to a over thesignificant harvest period, the rest the genotypes exhibited the highest values at T2 increasewhereas of total sugars andof sweetness
Fruit quality aspects such as fruit color, glossiness, sugar-to-acid ratio during the harvest period, flavor and aroma, resistance to diseases and postharvest life play a key role in strawberry acceptance
We evaluated fruit yield and size, sugars, phenolics and anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, antioxidant properties, fifty-five major volatiles and the expression levels of key enzymes in six strawberry genotypes cultivated under the same conditions in Greece
Summary
The octoploid cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa (Duchesne ex Weston) Duchesne ex Rozier) is a typical non-climacteric, horticultural crop cultivated worldwide. Strawberry fruits satisfy the consumers’ preference due to their sweet and aromatic flavor, nutritional value and health-promoting ingredients [1]. Strawberry breeding objectives have been focused on the development of new cultivars with high yield, resistance to pathogens and transport damages, adaptation to different climatic conditions and cultivation systems, season-wide production, fruit size and firmness [2]. In addition to the agronomic performance of the plant, the development of cultivars with superior organoleptic quality and nutritional value is a priority across many breeding programs
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