Variation of fruit quality traits in apricot as sources for nutraceutical breeding
- Autores: Helena Gómez Martínez
- Directores de la Tesis: María Luisa Badenes (dir. tes.), Elena Zuriaga García (dir. tes.), Santiago Vilanova Navarro (tut. tes.)
- Lectura: En la Universitat Politècnica de València ( España ) en 2021
- Idioma: español
- Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: José Miguel Soriano Soriano (presid.), Ana Pérez de Castro (secret.), Ana Adoracion Pina Sobrino (voc.)
- Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Biotecnología por la Universitat Politècnica de València
- Materias:
- Enlaces
- Tesis en acceso abierto en: RiuNet
- Resumen
Nowadays, there is a growing interest in a balanced and healthy diet, rich in fruit and vegetables with a positive effect on health and, particularly, with high antioxidant content. Simultaneously exists a consumer demand for high quality fruit with a balanced flavour and reminiscent of traditional varieties. As a result, breeding programmes are also aimed at improving the quality of the fruit, both in terms of the physicochemical properties of the fruit and its nutritional profile. From this point of view, the apricot is a complete fruit as far it is an extraordinary source of fibre, vitamins, phenolic compounds, and organic acids. Apricot properties make it possible to consume fruits both fresh and processed, which is exploited by the agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries for the production of a wide variety of products.
At the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) a breeding program is carrying out to obtain new apricot varieties but also to solve factors that directly affect production, such as self-compatibility or resistance to Sharka, but also is aimed to improve fruit quality. As the first step in any breeding program, this work has identified sources of variation among the collection of accessions in the IVIA's apricot collection, detailing the composition profiles for the main sugars, organic acids, phenolic compounds, and vitamin C. In addition, a higher concentration of compounds has been identified in the peel than in the flesh, which makes this tissue a source of compounds of interest for the industry.
On the other hand, for a better knowledge of the genetic control of sugar metabolism, the expression of the key genes involved in this pathway (SUS, SPS and FK), related to QTLs previously described in soluble solids, was studied. In addition, the study was also supported with the corresponding phylogenetic analysis among different species, revealing the level of conservation among them and confirming the high level of synteny in the genus Prunus.
Regarding phenolic compounds, the expression of genes involved in critical points of the metabolic pathway (DRF, PAL and FLS) was analysed. Our results revealed that the red-blushed accessions are associated with a higher expression of ParDFR and ParPAL2, and the expression differences among paralogues could be due to the presence of a BOXCOREDLPAL, also related to genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis (ParDFR, ParFLS2 and ParPAL2). Simultaneously, the genetic effect in the offspring of 'Goldrich', one of the main genitors used at the breeding program for the introgression of Sharka resistance, was also studied. Results revealed that it improves the concentration of neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids, as well as the genetic expression of ParPAL1.
