Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis of Quality Changes during Sweet Cherry Fruit Development and Mining of Related Genes

Abstract

Sweet cherries are economically important fruit trees, and their quality changes during development need to be determined. The mechanism of fruit quality changes in sweet cherries were determined by analyzing sweet cherry fruits at 12 developmental stages. The results showed that the soluble sugar, anthocyanin content, and hormones of sweet cherries all changed drastically during the color transition. Therefore, the fruits at the beginning of color conversion, at the end of color conversion, and at the ripening state were selected for the comprehensive analysis of their metabolome and transcriptome. Different sugars, such as D-glucose, sucrose, and trehalose, were identified in the metabolome. Dihydroquercetin, delphinidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-rutincoside, and other flavonoid species were also identified. D-glucose and cyanidin-3-rutinoside were among the most important components of sweet cherry soluble sugars and anthocyanins, respectively. The transcriptional analysis identified key structural genes and nine transcription factors involved in the ABA, sugar, organic acid, and anthocyanin synthesis pathways, with the following specific regulatory patterns. NAC71, WRKY57, and WRKY3 regulate fruit sugar accumulation mainly by acting on INV, SPS, and SUS. MYC2 is involved in the synthesis of anthocyanin precursors by activating PAL and C4H, whereas TCP7 mainly regulates CHI and F3H. WRKY3, NAC71, and WRKY57 have important positive regulatory significance on anthocyanin accumulation, mainly by activating the expression of DFR, ANS, and 3GT.

Insights into the Coloring Mechanism of Dark-Red and Yellow Fruits in Sweet Cherry through Transcriptome and Metabolome Analysis

“…Three stages are involved in the natural development of the "Hong Deng" sweet cherry, in which the fruit changes from green to yellow and finally to red [17], while the "Bing Hu" sweet cherry only changes color from green to yellow (Figure 1). Similarly, the "Bing Hu" sweet cherry changed from green to yellow during the second stage.…”

“…Sweet cherry fruits are colorful and glossy, and the skin and flesh show purple-black, red, yellow, and other rich fruit colors. Three stages are involved in the natural development of red sweet cherries: the green ripening stage, the color change stage, and the full red stage [17]. The fruit is green in the first stage; it changes from green to yellow in the second stage; and it changes from yellow to red in the third stage.…”

Metabolomics analysis of quality components metabolism during the growth process of pepino ( Solanum muricatum ) fruit

“…Fruit development and ripening is an intricate physiological and biochemical process encompassing a cascade of physiological and biochemical alterations, encompassing modifications in fruit composition, hormone synthesis, breakdown, pigmentation, and other metabolic transformations. 17 Studying the process of fruit development is of significant importance as it can unravel the reproductive mechanisms of plants and elucidate the molecular, cellular, and physiological foundations that govern fruit development. Previous studies have paid relatively little attention to the metabolites of pepino, particularly the unreported metabolomic differences during its growth and development process.…”

Integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis provide insight into anthocyanin biosynthesis for sepal color formation in Heptacodium miconioides

“…These genes were found to have a direct relationship with the biosynthesis and accumulation of cyanidin 3-O-glucoside and petunidin 3-O-glucoside ( Rothenberg et al., 2019 ). Chen et al. (2022) performed a metabolome and transcriptome analysis of sweet cherry ( Prunus avium L.), which revealed a different temporal expression pattern of anthocyanin accumulation associated with fruit color.…”