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Updated: Dec 22, 2025

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Published on: February 15, 2019
The sucrose transporter MdSUT4.1 participates in the regulation of fruit sugar accumulation in apple
Qian Peng1,2, Yaming Cai1,2, Enhui Lai1,2
1CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, The Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430074, China.
Background:
Sugar content is an important determinant of fruit sweetness, but details on the complex molecular mechanism underlying fruit sugar accumulation remain scarce. Here, we report the role of sucrose transporter (SUT) family in regulating fruit sugar accumulation in apple.
Results:
Gene-tagged markers were developed to conduct candidate gene-based association study, and an SUT4 member MdSUT4.1 was found to be significantly associated with fruit sugar accumulation. MdSUT4.1 encodes a tonoplast localized protein and its expression level had a negative correlation with fruit sugar content. Overexpression of MdSUT4.1 in strawberry and apple callus had an overall negative impact on sugar accumulation, suggesting that it functions to remobilize sugar out of the vacuole. In addition, MdSUT4.1 is located on chromosomal region harboring a previously reported QTL for sugar content, suggesting that it is a candidate gene for fruit sugar accumulation in apple.
Conclusions:
MdSUT4.1 is involved in the regulation of fruit sugar accumulation in apple. This study is not only helpful for understanding the complex mechanism of fruit sugar accumulation, but it also provides molecular tools for genetic improvement of fruit quality in breeding programs of apple.
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