Developing gene-tagged molecular markers for evaluation of genetic association of apple SWEET genes with fruit sugar accumulation

Sugar content is an important component of fruit quality. Although sugar transporters are known to be crucial for sugar accumulation, the role of genes encoding SWEET sugar transporters in fruit sugar accumulation remains elusive. Here we report the effect of the SWEET genes on fruit sugar accumulation in apple. A total of 25 MdSWEET genes were identified in the apple genome, and 9 were highly expressed throughout fruit development. Molecular markers of these 9 MdSWEET genes were developed and used for genotyping of 188 apple cultivars. The association of polymorphic MdSWEET genes with soluble sugar content in mature fruit was analyzed. Three genes, MdSWEET2e, MdSWEET9b, and MdSWEET15a, were significantly associated with fruit sugar content, with MdSWEET15a and MdSWEET9b accounting for a relatively large proportion of phenotypic variation in sugar content. Moreover, both MdSWEET9b and MdSWEET15a are located on chromosomal regions harboring QTLs for sugar content. Hence, MdSWEET9b and MdSWEET15a are likely candidates regulating fruit sugar accumulation in apple. Our study not only presents an efficient way of implementing gene functional study but also provides molecular tools for genetic improvement of fruit quality in apple-breeding programs.Sugar transportation: uncovering fruit sugar regulation in applesInsights into the mechanisms that drive fruit sugar content in apples could help develop and breed apple trees with improved fruit quality. The transportation of sugars throughout fruit plants plays a vital role both in healthy plant development and in the quality of the fruit produced. However, the mechanisms inherent in fruit sugar accumulation are not yet fully understood. Yuepeng Han at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, China, and co-workers sought to clarify the role of genes encoding SWEET sugar transporters in the cultivated apple, Malus x domestica Borkh. They identified 25 SWEET genes in the apple genome, with 9 of these highly expressed during fruit development. Han’s team narrowed these genes down to two that were highly associated with the regulation of sugar content in the fruit.

• Publication year

  2018

• Venue

  Horticulture Research

• Publication date

  2018-03-20

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1038/s41438-018-0024-3PMID 29581882PMCID 5859117
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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