Candidate gene functional profiling during fruit development and ripening in apple

The physiological process of fruit development and ripening is the result of a functional gene interplay governing the formation of the features characterizing the fruit quality properties. Among the several physiological processes, the modifications occurring in the cell wall are the most relevant and important, for their impact in the maintenance of the general fruit quality as well as the management of the postharvest storage. Beside the specific gene activation over the fruit cycle, also the particular genetic constitution can play important controlling roles. To investigate the functional machinery involved in the control of fruit texture and ethylene production during fruit ripening, two different cultivars, such as Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, were selected and a specific set of samples were collected, processed and hybridized over an ad hoc designed custom microarray platform. The specific regulation of approximately 3800 genes involved in fruit ripening and regulatory process, together with their relative anchoring on a set of QTL intervals, will allow the simultaneous analysis of the genes differentially regulated among the different samples and their putative genetic control on these fruit quality traits. This study can thus represent a step forwards into the comprehension of the several mechanisms underlying the apple fruit quality, offering new opportunity for supporting the constitution of the most favourable apple ideotypes.