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Published on: September 7, 2013
Skin Color in Apple Fruit (Malus × domestica): Genetic and Epigenetic Insights
Wuqian Wang1, Jean-Marc Celton1, Gerhard Buck-Sorlin1
1IRHS (Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences), UMR 1345, INRAE, Agrocampus-Ouest, Université d'Angers, SFR 4207 QuaSaV, F-49071 Beaucouzé, France.
Abstract:
Apple skin color is an important trait for organoleptic quality. In fact, it has a major influence on consumer choice. Skin color is, thus, one of the most important criteria taken into account by breeders. For apples, most novel varieties are so-called "mutants" or "sports" that have been identified in clonal populations. Indeed, many "sports" exist that show distinct phenotypic differences compared to the varieties from which they originated. These differences affect a limited number of traits of economic importance, including skin color. Until recently, the detailed genetic or epigenetic changes resulting in heritable phenotypic changes in sports was largely unknown. Recent technological advances and the availability of several high-quality apple genomes now provide the bases to understand the exact nature of the underlying molecular changes that are responsible for the observed phenotypic changes observed in sports. The present review investigates the molecular nature of sports affected in apple skin color giving arguments in favor of the genetic or epigenetic explanatory models.
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