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The PH gene determines fruit acidity and contributes to the evolution of sweet melons

Author

Listed:
  • Shahar Cohen

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Maxim Itkin

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Yelena Yeselson

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Galil Tzuri

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Vitaly Portnoy

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Rotem Harel-Baja

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Shery Lev

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Uzi Sa‘ar

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Rachel Davidovitz-Rikanati

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Nadine Baranes

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Einat Bar

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Dalia Wolf

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Marina Petreikov

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Shmuel Shen

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Shifra Ben-Dor

    (Weizmann Institute)

  • Ilana Rogachev

    (Weizmann Institute)

  • Asaph Aharoni

    (Weizmann Institute)

  • Tslil Ast

    (Weizmann Institute)

  • Maya Schuldiner

    (Weizmann Institute)

  • Eduard Belausov

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Ravit Eshed

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Ron Ophir

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Amir Sherman

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

  • Benedikt Frei

    (Technische Universitat Kaiserlautern)

  • H. Ekkehard Neuhaus

    (Technische Universitat Kaiserlautern)

  • Yimin Xu

    (Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Science)

  • Zhangjun Fei

    (Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Science)

  • Jim Giovannoni

    (Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Science)

  • Efraim Lewinsohn

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Yaakov Tadmor

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Harry S. Paris

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Nurit Katzir

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Yosef Burger

    (ARO-Newe Ya‘ar Center)

  • Arthur A. Schaffer

    (ARO-Volcani Center)

Abstract

Taste has been the subject of human selection in the evolution of agricultural crops, and acidity is one of the three major components of fleshy fruit taste, together with sugars and volatile flavour compounds. We identify a family of plant-specific genes with a major effect on fruit acidity by map-based cloning of C. melo PH gene (CmPH) from melon, Cucumis melo taking advantage of the novel natural genetic variation for both high and low fruit acidity in this species. Functional silencing of orthologous PH genes in two distantly related plant families, cucumber and tomato, produced low-acid, bland tasting fruit, showing that PH genes control fruit acidity across plant families. A four amino-acid duplication in CmPH distinguishes between primitive acidic varieties and modern dessert melons. This fortuitous mutation served as a preadaptive antecedent to the development of sweet melon cultigens in Central Asia over 1,000 years ago.

Suggested Citation

  • Shahar Cohen & Maxim Itkin & Yelena Yeselson & Galil Tzuri & Vitaly Portnoy & Rotem Harel-Baja & Shery Lev & Uzi Sa‘ar & Rachel Davidovitz-Rikanati & Nadine Baranes & Einat Bar & Dalia Wolf & Marina P, 2014. "The PH gene determines fruit acidity and contributes to the evolution of sweet melons," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms5026
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5026
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