Genome-wide association links candidate genes to fruit firmness, fruit flesh color, flowering time, and soluble solid content in apricot (Prunus armeniaca)

Abstract

Apricots originated from China, Central Asia and the Near East and arrived in Anatolia, and particularly in their second homeland of Malatya province in Turkey. Apricots are outstanding summer fruits, with their beautiful attractive colour, delicious sweet taste, aroma and high vitamin and mineral content. In the current study, a total of 259 apricot genotypes from different geographical origins in Turkey were used. Significant variations were detected in fruit firmness (FF), fruit flesh color (FFC), flowering time (FT), and soluble solid content (SSC). A total of 11,532 SNPs based on DArT were developed and used in the analyses of population structure and association mapping (AM). According to the STRUCTURE (v.2.2) analysis, the apricot genotypes were divided into three groups. The mixed linear model with Q and K matrixes were used to detect the associations between the SNPs and four traits. A total of 131 SNPs were associated with FF, FFC, and SSC. The results demonstrated that AM had high potential of revealing the markers associated with economically important traits in apricot.