Genetic regulation of volatile production in two melon introgression line collections with contrasting ripening behavior

Abstract

The importance of melon aroma in determining fruit quality has been highlighted in recent years. The fruit volatile profile is influenced by the type of fruit ripening. Non-climacteric fruits contain predominantly aldehydes, while climacteric fruits mainly produce esters. Several genes have been described to participate in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) biosynthesis pathways, but knowledge in this area is still incomplete. In this work we analysed the volatile profile of two reciprocal Introgression Line (IL) collections generated from a cross between ‘Piel de Sapo’ (PS) and ‘Védrantais’ (VED) melons, differing in their aroma profile and ripening behaviour. SPME GC-MS was performed to identify genes responsible for VOCs formation. More than 1000 QTLs for many volatiles were detected taken together both populations. Introgressions on chromosomes 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 modified ester-aldehyde balance and were correlated to ripening changes in both genetic backgrounds. Some previously identified QTLs for fruit ripening might be involved in these phenotypes, such as ETHQV8.1 on chromosome 8 and ETHQV6.3 on chromosome 6. PS alleles on chromosomes 2, 6, 10 and 11 were found to increase ester content when introgressed in VED melons. Terpenes showed to be affected by several genomic regions not related to ripening. In addition, several candidate genes have been hypothesized to be responsible for some of the QTLs detected. The analysis of volatile compounds in two reciprocal IL collections has increased our understanding of the relationship between ripening and aroma and offers valuable plant material to improve food quality in melon breeding programs.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants RTI2018-097665-B-C2, PID2021-125998OB-C21, and CEX2019-000902-S funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe” to MP and JGM. The authors also acknowledge the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya and the 2021-SGR-00756 grant from the Generalitat de Catalunya. The authors also wish to thank the support of the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya for having funded the 2019 FI_B 00124 project, and the co-funding of the European Social Fund (ESF—‘ESF is investing in your future’) from the European Union. Special thanks to Fuensanta García for technical assistance in field and lab operations, as well as to intern students Tamara Pazos Martínez, Júlia Farrero Masferrer, Carlos Muñoz Borrego, Albert Alegret, and Albert Roldán.

Author contributions

Methodology, data collection and analysis were performed by C.M., M.S.D., E.N.O., A.F.-B. and J.R.-L. Conceptualization was done by C.M., J.G.-M. and M.P. The first draft of the manuscript was written by C.M. Review and editing of the manuscript, supervision, and funding acquisition was done by J.G.-M. and M.P. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study can be found within manuscript and Supplementary information, with further enquiries being directed to the corresponding authors J.G.-M. and M.P.

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data is available at Horticulture Research online.

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