Identification of key gene networks controlling organic acid and sugar metabolism during star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) development.
Xinyu Xu, Lianhuan Xu, Zirui Yang, Lei Chen, Yiqing Wang, Hui Ren, Zehuang Zhang, Yousry A El-Kassaby, Shasha Wu
Author Information
Xinyu Xu: The Innovation and Application Engineering Technology Research Center of Ornamental Plant Germplasm Resources in Fujian Province, National Long term Scientific Research Base for Fujian Orchid Conservation, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Lianhuan Xu: The Innovation and Application Engineering Technology Research Center of Ornamental Plant Germplasm Resources in Fujian Province, National Long term Scientific Research Base for Fujian Orchid Conservation, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Zirui Yang: The Innovation and Application Engineering Technology Research Center of Ornamental Plant Germplasm Resources in Fujian Province, National Long term Scientific Research Base for Fujian Orchid Conservation, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Lei Chen: The Innovation and Application Engineering Technology Research Center of Ornamental Plant Germplasm Resources in Fujian Province, National Long term Scientific Research Base for Fujian Orchid Conservation, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Yiqing Wang: The Innovation and Application Engineering Technology Research Center of Ornamental Plant Germplasm Resources in Fujian Province, National Long term Scientific Research Base for Fujian Orchid Conservation, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Hui Ren: Horticulture Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, China.
Zehuang Zhang: Fruit Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, 350003, China.
Yousry A El-Kassaby: Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. y.el-kassaby@ubc.ca.
Shasha Wu: The Innovation and Application Engineering Technology Research Center of Ornamental Plant Germplasm Resources in Fujian Province, National Long term Scientific Research Base for Fujian Orchid Conservation, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China. shashawu1984@126.com.
The sugar and organic acid content significantly impacts the flavor quality of star fruit, and it undergoes dynamic changes during development. However, the metabolic network and molecular mechanisms governing the formation of sugar and organic acid in star fruit remain unclear. In this study, 23 of 743 components were detected by metabonomic analysis. The highest metabolites contents were organic acids and derivatives. The highest sugar content in the fruit was fructose and glucose, followed by sucrose, which proved that A. carambola is a hexose accumulation type fruit. Genome identification preliminarily screened 141 genes related to glucose metabolism and 67 genes related to acid metabolism. A total of 7,881 unigenes were found in transcriptome data, 6,124 differentially expressed genes were screened, with more up-regulated than down-regulated genes. Transcriptome and metabolome association analysis screened seven core candidate genes related to glucose metabolism and 17 core genes highly related to organic acid pathway, and eight differentially expressed sugar and acid genes were selected for qRT-PCR verification. In addition, 29 bHLHs and eight bZIPs transcription factors were predicted in the glucose metabolism pathway, and 23 MYBs, nine C2H2s transcription factors and one GRAS transcription factor was predicted in the acid metabolism pathway, and transcription factors have both positive and negative regulatory effects on sugar and acid structure genes. This study increased our understanding of A. carambola fruit flavor and provided basic information for further exploring the ornamental and edible values of star fruit.
