Genetic Basis of Fruit Quality Traits

Dear Colleagues,

Quality is the result of the complex perception of many attributes evaluated by the consumer. Key to these are attractiveness and flavour. Other important aspects of fruit quality exist that relate to market quality, user quality, and biological quality; thus, its meaning is continuously expanding. In the last few years, the concept of fruit quality has focused on the nutritional value of fruits for human health, thus evidencing that “quality” is a very plastic term, depending on the expectations of consumers, and thus other traits are continuously added to the ‘quality’ objectives to be achieved. Fruit size, shape, color, and firmness are the first quality traits that attract the consumer. The organoleptic quality comes second but is not less important: it involves flavour, aroma, and texture. For fruit that also has a processing destination, the content of soluble solids, pH, viscosity, and shelf-life are also quality attributes. Last but not least, nutritional value and food safety are important quality parameters of consumers. The content of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, as well as the absence of natural toxicants, mycotoxins, and microbial contaminants in fruit, are key objectives for high-quality fruit. In order to reach this objective, many “traditional” and “innovative” genomics and metabolomics tools as well as plant imaging technologies have been made available, which could allow for a better understanding of fruit quality traits and the development of different and novel approaches to gain improvement in these traits. The forthcoming Special Issue aims to provide an overview of recent topics in plant genetics and genomics strategies to improve the fruit quality potential of many different plant species, including vegetables, berries, and tree crops.

Prof. Amalia Barone
Dr. Julie Graham
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.