Chinese scientists reveal the genetic code behind peach flavor and shape

Constrained by the long growth cycle of fruit trees, only a handful of key genes for individual traits in peach have been identified so far, and molecular marker-assisted breeding has also progressed slowly. In recent years, the peach resource and breeding innovation team led by Wang Lirong, a researcher at the Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, together with Tian Zhixi's research team at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, completed genome resequencing of peach and association analysis of important agronomic traits. The related results were published online in Nature Communications on the 8th.

Experts in the field believe that the study is not only of great significance for agronomic applications, but also helps explain how early domestication and modern breeding have affected the genome of peach, an important fruit. The researchers first completed resequencing of 129 accessions, identifying more than 4 million high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms, and then carried out preliminary association analysis of 12 traits affecting peach fruit taste and appearance. To increase reliability, the association loci for some traits were verified in 345 additional accessions. The results found that among 10 qualitative traits, 9 were consistent with previously mapped results from linkage analysis, and some traits (such as clingstone/freestone and flesh texture) were even directly mapped to key genes. Interestingly, the researchers found that among the 240 million bases in the peach genome, a variant at just 1 locus may be exactly what caused peach to mutate from round to the flat shape commonly seen on the market today (flat peach). The researchers also predicted key genes for fruit non-acid/acid content, fruit skin hair presence/absence, flesh color (white/yellow), kernel flavor (bitter/sweet) and two flower traits, and discussed candidate genes under selection during peach domestication and breeding.

"The relevant evidence shows that the genes controlling peach fruit flavor appear to have been mainly selected during the long-term domestication of wild peach by farmers in our country, while the genes related to the increase in peach fruit size are related to recent crossbreeding. More importantly, through our research, the breeding cycle for certain peach traits can be shortened from the current 10-15 years to 1-3 years." said Cao Ke, first author of the paper and associate researcher at the Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. (Reporters Zhang Lei and Yang Shu)