Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don], an economically important fruit species native to southwestern China, plays a key role in regional agriculture. Organic acid composition is crucial for determining organoleptic quality of Chinese cherry, yet the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. RESULTS: In this study, we analyzed organic acid composition in mature fruits from 34 Chinese cherry accessions and tracked dynamic changes throughout fruit development in two landraces with distinct acidity levels (high and low), via HPLC and transcriptomics. Malic acid is the predominant organic acid component, which accounted for 73.66% of total acids. The high-acid landrace exhibited very rapid malate accumulation and relatively fast degradation, while the low-acid landrace showed minor changes in malate levels throughout fruit development. A total of 7,698 DEGs were clustered into six clusters, with DEGs from three clusters being significantly enriched in the "pyruvate metabolism" and "TCA cycle" pathways. Key genes involved in malate biosynthesis (cMDH, PEPC2) and transport (ALMT4, VHP) were up-regulated in the high-acid landrace, while NADP-ME, a gene associated with malate degradation, was down-regulated. Co-expressed network analysis highlighted strong correlations between key structural genes and transcription factors (MYB, ARF, AP2, and bHLH). Notably, CpODORANT1like and CpARF2Blike were identified as potential regulators of acidity, modulating NADP-ME and PEPC2 expression, respectively. These candidate genes were validated through an integrated analysis of phenotypic data and expression pattern of 34 genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that malate accumulation in Chinese cherry is regulated at both the metabolic and vacuolar storage levels. This study deepens our understanding of the mechanisms regulating fruit acidity in Chinese cherry, which could inform future breeding efforts aimed at improving fruit flavor.
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Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
Malic acid was the predominant organic acid, at 73.66% of total acids in mature Chinese cherry fruits.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e1“Malic acid is the predominant organic acid component, which accounted for 73.66% of total acids”
e2“analyzed organic acid composition in mature fruits from 34 Chinese cherry accessions”
Claim · model-written summary
The high-acid landrace showed very rapid malate accumulation and relatively fast degradation.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e3“The high-acid landrace exhibited very rapid malate accumulation and relatively fast degradation”
Claim · model-written summary
The low-acid landrace showed minor changes in malate levels during fruit development.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e4“the low-acid landrace showed minor changes in malate levels throughout fruit development”
Claim · model-written summary
DEGs from three clusters were significantly enriched in the pyruvate metabolism pathway during Chinese cherry fruit development.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e5“DEGs from three clusters being significantly enriched in the "pyruvate metabolism" and "TCA cycle" pathways”
Claim · model-written summary
DEGs from three clusters were significantly enriched in the TCA cycle pathway during Chinese cherry fruit development.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e5“DEGs from three clusters being significantly enriched in the "pyruvate metabolism" and "TCA cycle" pathways”
Claim · model-written summary
Malate biosynthesis genes cMDH and PEPC2 were up-regulated in the high-acid landrace.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e6“Key genes involved in malate biosynthesis (cMDH, PEPC2) and transport (ALMT4, VHP) were up-regulated in the high-acid landrace”
Claim · model-written summary
Malate transport genes ALMT4 and VHP were up-regulated in the high-acid landrace.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e6“Key genes involved in malate biosynthesis (cMDH, PEPC2) and transport (ALMT4, VHP) were up-regulated in the high-acid landrace”
Claim · model-written summary
NADP-ME, a gene associated with malate degradation, was down-regulated in Chinese cherry.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e7“NADP-ME, a gene associated with malate degradation, was down-regulated”
Claim · model-written summary
Key structural genes and transcription factors (MYB, ARF, AP2, bHLH) showed strong co-expression correlations in Chinese cherry.
Not reportedDirection
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e2“Co-expressed network analysis highlighted strong correlations between key structural genes and transcription factors (MYB, ARF, AP2, and bHLH)”
Claim · model-written summary
CpODORANT1like is a potential regulator of acidity in Chinese cherry, modulating NADP-ME expression.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e1“CpODORANT1like and CpARF2Blike were identified as potential regulators of acidity, modulating NADP-ME and PEPC2 expression, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
CpARF2Blike is a potential regulator of acidity in Chinese cherry, modulating PEPC2 expression.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e1“CpODORANT1like and CpARF2Blike were identified as potential regulators of acidity, modulating NADP-ME and PEPC2 expression, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
The candidate genes were validated in 34 Chinese cherry genotypes by integrated phenotypic and expression analysis.
Verbatim
e0“Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don]”
e1“These candidate genes were validated through an integrated analysis of phenotypic data and expression pattern of 34 genotypes”
Claim · model-written summary
Malate accumulation in Chinese cherry is regulated at both the metabolic and the vacuolar storage levels.
Verbatim
e1“malate accumulation in Chinese cherry is regulated at both the metabolic and vacuolar storage levels”