A global analysis of soluble solids content in strawberry

Authors: Zurn, Jason; FIKERE, MULUSEW - University Of Queensland; VERMA, SUJEET - University Of Florida; AMAYA, IRAIDA - Ifapa Centro Alameda Del Obispo; MUNOZ DEL RIO, PILAR - Ifapa Centro Alameda Del Obispo; SANCHEZ-SEVILLA, JOSE - Ifapa Centro Alameda Del Obispo; COCKERTON, HELEN - National Institute Of Agricultural Botany (NIAB); HARRISON, RICHARD - National Institute Of Agricultural Botany (NIAB); MAHONEY, LISE - University Of New Hampshire; DAVIS, TOM - University Of New Hampshire; HANCOCK, JAMES - Michigan State University; Finn, Chad; MATHEY, MEGAN - Spring Meadow Nursery Inc; NEAL, JODI - Queensland Department Of Primary Industries & Fisheries; KO, HIAN-LIEN - Queensland Department Of Primary Industries & Fisheries; WHITAKER, VANCE - University Of Florida; HARDNER, CRAIG - University Of Queensland; Bassil, Nahla

Submitted to: American Society of Horticulture Science Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2019
Publication Date: 7/21/2019
Citation: Zurn, J.D., Fikere, M., Verma, S., Amaya, I., Munoz Del Rio, P., Sanchez-Sevilla, J.F., Cockerton, H., Harrison, R.J., Mahoney, L.L., Davis, T.M., Hancock, J.F., Finn, C.E., Mathey, M.M., Neal, J., Ko, H., Whitaker, V.M., Hardner, C., Bassil, N.V. 2019. A global analysis of soluble solids content in strawberry. American Society of Horticulture Science Meeting. American Society of Horticulture Science Meeting.

Interpretive Summary: Sweet strawberries are in high demand by consucmers. Fruit sweetness is greatly affected by the environment the strawberries are grown in making genetic studies difficult. A way to solve this is to conduct a meta-analysis that uses multiple evironments to better characterize the genetics controlling fruit sweetness. In this study, genetic and trait information was collected from seven breeding programs from around the world. The data collected consised of strawberries evaluated in 19 different environments. Statistical models were constructed using both the genetic and trait information to gain new insights about fruit sweetness in strawberry.

Technical Abstract: Strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) fruit flavor is due to a complex mix of sugars, acids, and aromatic compounds. Consumers tend to prefer sweeter strawberry cultivars. Therefore, sweetness has been an important target trait for breeders. The majority of strawberry soluble solids are sugars, and soluble solids content (SSC) is used as a proxy to determine sweetness. A strong genotype × environment (G × E) interaction has been observed for SSC, causing difficulties when studying the genetics underlying SSC in individual environments. A meta-analysis of multiple environments may provide new insights toward unraveling the genetics underlying SSC. Genotypic and phenotypic data were collected for 3,407 total individuals from seven breeding programs (four in the United States, one from Spain, the United Kingdom, and Australia). Subsets of the individuals were evaluated for SSC in 19 environments. Genotypic information from the 90K and 35K Axiom arrays was reduced to 12,951 high quality single nucleotide polymorphism markers shared by all accessions. Missing data was imputed, linkage disequilibrium was calculated, and a relationship matrix was constructed for all samples. Using this information, multiple G × E models were evaluated for their predictive ability among environments. Results demonstrate how genomic models can be used to predict strawberry SSC in new environments.