Molecular Bases of Fruit Quality in Prunus Species: An Integrated Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Metabolic Review with a Breeding Perspective

García-Gómez, Beatriz E.; Salazar, Juan A.; Nicolás-Almansa, María; Razi, Mitra; Rubio, Manuel; Ruiz, David; Martínez-Gómez, Pedro

doi:10.3390/ijms22010333

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Molecular Bases of Fruit Quality in Prunus Species: An Integrated Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Metabolic Review with a Breeding Perspective

by

Beatriz E. García-Gómez

¹,

Juan A. Salazar

¹,

María Nicolás-Almansa

¹,

Mitra Razi

²,

Manuel Rubio

¹

,

David Ruiz

¹ and

Pedro Martínez-Gómez

^1,*

¹

Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, P.O. Box 164, 30100 Murcia, Spain

²

Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zajan, Zanjan 45371-38791, Iran

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(1), 333; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010333

Submission received: 24 November 2020 / Revised: 21 December 2020 / Accepted: 26 December 2020 / Published: 30 December 2020

(This article belongs to the Collection Genetics and Molecular Breeding in Plants)

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Abstract

In plants, fruit ripening is a coordinated developmental process that requires the change in expression of hundreds to thousands of genes to modify many biochemical and physiological signal cascades such as carbohydrate and organic acid metabolism, cell wall restructuring, ethylene production, stress response, and organoleptic compound formation. In Prunus species (including peaches, apricots, plums, and cherries), fruit ripening leads to the breakdown of complex carbohydrates into sugars, fruit firmness reductions (softening by cell wall degradation and cuticle properties alteration), color changes (loss of green color by chlorophylls degradation and increase in non-photosynthetic pigments like anthocyanins and carotenoids), acidity decreases, and aroma increases (the production and release of organic volatile compounds). Actually, the level of information of molecular events at the transcriptional, biochemical, hormonal, and metabolite levels underlying ripening in Prunus fruits has increased considerably. However, we still poorly understand the molecular switch that occurs during the transition from unripe to ripe fruits. The objective of this review was to analyze of the molecular bases of fruit quality in Prunus species through an integrated metabolic, genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenetic approach to better understand the molecular switch involved in the ripening process with important consequences from a breeding point of view.

Keywords: Prunus; fruit quality; genomics; transcriptomics; metabolomics; epigenetics; breeding

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MDPI and ACS Style

García-Gómez, B.E.; Salazar, J.A.; Nicolás-Almansa, M.; Razi, M.; Rubio, M.; Ruiz, D.; Martínez-Gómez, P. Molecular Bases of Fruit Quality in Prunus Species: An Integrated Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Metabolic Review with a Breeding Perspective. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 333. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010333

AMA Style

García-Gómez BE, Salazar JA, Nicolás-Almansa M, Razi M, Rubio M, Ruiz D, Martínez-Gómez P. Molecular Bases of Fruit Quality in Prunus Species: An Integrated Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Metabolic Review with a Breeding Perspective. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(1):333. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010333

Chicago/Turabian Style

García-Gómez, Beatriz E., Juan A. Salazar, María Nicolás-Almansa, Mitra Razi, Manuel Rubio, David Ruiz, and Pedro Martínez-Gómez. 2021. "Molecular Bases of Fruit Quality in Prunus Species: An Integrated Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Metabolic Review with a Breeding Perspective" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, no. 1: 333. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010333

APA Style

García-Gómez, B. E., Salazar, J. A., Nicolás-Almansa, M., Razi, M., Rubio, M., Ruiz, D., & Martínez-Gómez, P. (2021). Molecular Bases of Fruit Quality in Prunus Species: An Integrated Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Metabolic Review with a Breeding Perspective. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(1), 333. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010333

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Molecular Bases of Fruit Quality in Prunus Species: An Integrated Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Metabolic Review with a Breeding Perspective

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