Breeding crops for improved flavor is challenging due to the high cost of sensory evaluation and the difficulty of connecting sensory experience to chemical composition. The main goal of this study was to identify the chemical drivers of sweetness and consumer liking for fresh strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa). Fruit of 148 strawberry samples from cultivars and breeding selections were grown and harvested over seven years and were subjected to both sensory and chemical analyses. Each panel consisted of at least 100 consumers, resulting in more than 15,000 sensory data points per descriptor. Three sugars, two acids and 113 volatile compounds were quantified. Consumer liking was highly associated with sweetness intensity, texture liking, and flavor intensity, but not sourness intensity. Partial least square analyses revealed 20 volatile compounds that increased sweetness perception independently of sugars; 18 volatiles that increased liking independently of sugars; and 15 volatile compounds that had positive effects on both. Machine learning-based predictive models including sugars, acids, and volatiles explained at least 25% more variation in sweetness and liking than models accounting for sugars and acids only. Volatile compounds such as γ-dodecalactone; 5-hepten-2-one, 6-methyl; and multiple medium-chain fatty acid esters may serve as targets for breeding or quality control attributes for strawberry products. A genetic association study identified two loci controlling ester production, both on linkage group 6 A. Co-segregating makers in these regions can be used for increasing multiple esters simultaneously. This study demonstrates a paradigm for improvement of fruit sweetness and flavor in which consumers drive the identification of the most important chemical targets, which in turn drives the discovery of genetic targets for marker-assisted breeding.

The University of Florida strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch. ex Rosier) breeding program has maintained a continuous breeding effort since 1968 to develop cultivars that are highly adapted to winter production in west-central Florida. To gain insight into breeding progress over time, two advanced selections (UF1 and UF2) and 10 released cultivars, from Florida Belle (1975) to Florida Radiance (2008), were compared for various fruit quality traits in a two-location field study during the 2009–2010 season. Fruit size varied dramatically from 30.8 g for ‘Elyana’ to 16.2 g for ‘Dover’ at Balm, FL, and from 28.3 g for UF2 to 16.6 g for ‘Dover’ at Dover, FL. A linear regression of fruit size on year of release revealed an average gain of 2.6 g per year since 1975 for the cultivars and selections tested (R2 = 0.44). A similar analysis revealed a reduction over time in the proportion of cull fruit (R2 = 0.30). Gains were apparent for the redness of the internal flesh, from a colorimeter a* value of 16.1 for ‘Florida Belle’ (1975) to 34.7 for ‘Carmine’ (2002) but were not sustained for later releases and selections. Although there were significant differences among genotypes for all chemical traits affecting flavor, there were no discernable patterns over time. There were wide month-to-month variations in individual sugars and organic acids, except for citric acid, which was stable across months and locations. The ratio of soluble solids content to titratable acidity ranged widely among genotypes, from a high of 15.7 for ‘Florida Belle’ in February at Dover, FL, to a low of 6.4 for ‘Winter Dawn’ in January at Balm, FL. The observed variability and trends in fruit quality traits will help guide future genetic studies and inform decisions about future breeding priorities and selection procedures.

Whole-genome resequencing provides information of great relevance for crop genetics, evolution, and breeding. Here, we present the first whole-genome resequencing study using seven eggplant (Solanum melongena) and one wild relative (Solanum incanum) accessions. These eight accessions were selected for displaying a high phenotypic and genetic diversity and for being the founder parents of an eggplant multiparent advanced generation intercrosses population. By resequencing at an average depth of 19.8× and comparing to the high-quality reference genome "67/3" over 10 million high-reliable polymorphisms were discovered, of which over 9 million (84.5%) were single nucleotide polymorphisms and more than 700,000 (6.5%) InDels. However, while for the S. melongena accessions, the variants identified ranged from 0.8 to 1.3 million, over 9 million were detected for the wild S. incanum. This confirms the narrow genetic diversity of the domesticated eggplant and suggests that introgression breeding using wild relatives can efficiently contribute to broadening the genetic basis of this crop. Differences were observed among accessions for the enrichment in genes regulating important biological processes. By analyzing the distribution of the variants, we identified the potential footprints of old introgressions from wild relatives that can help to unravel the unclear domestication and breeding history. The comprehensive annotation of these eight genomes and the information provided in this study represents a landmark in eggplant genomics and allows the development of tools for eggplant genetics and breeding.

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The University of Florida strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) breeding population has been continuously improved by recurrent selection since 1968. However, there is a lack of information on genetic parameters that may inform breeding decisions. Parameters were estimated in this population using 19 full-sib families from a 5 × 4 factorial mating design plus six additional biparental crosses and 14 control genotypes including some of the parents. During the 2010–11 season, clonal replicates of the seedling and parental genotypes were distributed within and among two field locations in west–central Florida. Twelve commercially important traits were measured including fruit chemical traits (soluble solids content and titratable acidity), other fruit and yield traits (early and total marketable yields, proportion of total cull fruit, proportion of misshapen fruit, proportion water-damaged fruit, and shape score), and vegetative traits (plant height and total runners). Heritabilities, genotype by environment interaction, and multiple correlations (phenotypic, genotypic, and genetic) were estimated using general mixed model analyses. Narrow-sense heritabilities varied from low to moderate (h2 = 0.13 ± 0.07 to 0.32 ± 0.09) except for shape score (h2 = 0.06 ± 0.04) and total average weight (h2 = 0.52 ± 0.07). Broad-sense heritabilities were larger (H2 = 0.18 ± 0.03 to 0.53 ± 0.04), and for more than half of the traits, over 50% of the total genetic variation was non-additive. Large genetic and genotypic correlations were found for some traits, most notably between soluble solids content and early marketable yield (–0.68 ± 0.22). Genetic gains for this pair of traits based on a Monte Carlo simulation illustrated the tradeoff between these two traits, showing that a 27% increase in early yield could be obtained through selection but at the expense of an 8% decrease in soluble solids. However, moderate gains can be made in both traits using the appropriate index coefficients.