Study of the genetic basis of Prunus fruit quality on two apricot and two peach populations
Abstract
Within the ISAFRUIT European Integrated Project, a work package (6.1) is dedicated to the genetic bases of fruit quality and health properties. It is subdivided into six main tasks, two of them for the apricot and peach quality attrihutes: task I "Identification and mapping of candidate genes for fruit quality in saturated maps of peach and apricot" and task 3 'QTLs analysis of fruit quality". Six laboratories are involved in theses tasks on Prunus species and 4 Prunus progenies of 120 seedlings each are being used: two apricot progenies grown in Avignon (F) and Bologna (I), and two peach progenies grown in Avignon and Bordeaux (F). Fruit quality characterization is based on (i) physical measurements (fruit weight, colour, firmness), (ii) biochemical measurements (soluble solids content, titratable acidity) and (iii) fine metabolic profiling based on 1H RMN 1D targeting the major metabolites, associated with a phenolic compound characterization by HPLC. Saturated genetic linkage maps have been constructed for each progeny both in apricot and peach, and the phenotypic datasets will be joined with the genetic map for localising the associated QTLs. Identification and mapping of candidate genes for fruit quality traits will be the subsequent step. Particular attention will be paid to the co-linearity between species.