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Flavonoids are products from specialized metabolism that contribute to fruit sensorial (color) and nutritional (antioxidant properties) quality. Here, using a pseudo full-sibling F 1 progeny previously studied for fruit sensorial quality of cultivated strawberry ( Fragaria × ananassa ), we explored over two successive years the genetic architecture of flavonoid-related traits using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (13 compounds including anthocyanins, flavonols, and flavan-3-ols) and colorimetric assays (anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolics, and total antioxidant capacity (ferric reducing antioxidant power and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity)). Network correlation analysis highlighted the high connectivity of flavonoid compounds within each chemical class and low correlation with colorimetric traits except for anthocyanins. Mapping onto the female and male linkage maps of 152 flavonoid metabolic quantitative trait loci (mQTLs) and of 26 colorimetric QTLs indicated colocalization on few linkage groups of major flavonoid- and taste-related QTLs previously uncovered. These results pave the way for the discovery of genetic variations underlying flavonoid mQTLs and for marker-assisted selection of strawberry varieties with improved sensorial and nutritional quality.

Extending the period of fruit production is a way to substantially increase crop yield in many fruit or ornamental species. In the cultivated octoploid strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa), the most consumed small fruit worldwide, fruit production season can be extended by selecting the perpetual flowering (PF) cultivars. This trait is of considerable interest to growers and to the food industry. Four homoeologous loci controlling a single trait can be expected in such a complex octoploid species. However, we recently showed that the PF trait is under the control of the single dominant FaPFRU locus (J. Exp. Bot., 2013, 64, 1837), making it potentially amenable to marker-assisted selection (MAS). Here, we report the successful use of a strategy, based on a selective mapping using a reduced sample of individuals, to identify nine markers in close linkage to the FaPFRU allelic variant. Thus, this strategy can be used to fine map the target homoeologous loci in other complex polyploid crop species. Recombinant analysis further enabled us to reduce the locus to a region flanked by two markers, Bx083_206 and Bx215_131, corresponding to a 1.1 Mb region in the diploid F. vesca reference genome. This region comprises 234 genes, including 15 flowering associated genes. Among these, the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) is known to be a key activator of flowering. The close association between the PF trait and the FaPFRU flanking markers was validated using an additional segregating population and genetic resources. This study lays the foundation for effective and rapid breeding of PF strawberry cultivars by MAS., (© 2016 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Strawberry (Fragaria sp.) stands as an interesting model for studying flowering behaviour and its relationship with asexual plant reproduction in polycarpic perennial plants. Strawberry produces both inflorescences and stolons (also called runners), which are lateral stems growing at the soil surface and producing new clone plants. In this study, the flowering and runnering behaviour of two cultivated octoploid strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch., 2n = 8× = 56) genotypes, a seasonal flowering genotype CF1116 and a perpetual flowering genotype Capitola, were studied along the growing season. The genetic bases of the perpetual flowering and runnering traits were investigated further using a pseudo full-sibling F1 population issued from a cross between these two genotypes. The results showed that a single major quantitative trait locus (QTL) named FaPFRU controlled both traits in the cultivated octoploid strawberry. This locus was not orthologous to the loci affecting perpetual flowering (SFL) and runnering (R) in Fragaria vesca, therefore suggesting different genetic control of perpetual flowering and runnering in the diploid and octoploid Fragaria spp. Furthermore, the FaPFRU QTL displayed opposite effects on flowering (positive effect) and on runnering (negative effect), indicating that both traits share common physiological control. These results suggest that this locus plays a major role in strawberry plant fitness by controlling the balance between sexual and asexual plant reproduction.

Extending the period of fruit production is a way to substantially increase crop yield in many fruit or ornamental species. In the cultivated octoploid strawberry ( Fragaria × ananassa), the most consumed small fruit worldwide, fruit production season can be extended by selecting the perpetual flowering ( PF) cultivars. This trait is of considerable interest to growers and to the food industry. Four homoeologous loci controlling a single trait can be expected in such a complex octoploid species. However, we recently showed that the PF trait is under the control of the single dominant Fa PFRU locus ( J. Exp. Bot., 2013, 64, 1837), making it potentially amenable to marker-assisted selection ( MAS). Here, we report the successful use of a strategy, based on a selective mapping using a reduced sample of individuals, to identify nine markers in close linkage to the FaPFRU allelic variant. Thus, this strategy can be used to fine map the target homoeologous loci in other complex polyploid crop species. Recombinant analysis further enabled us to reduce the locus to a region flanked by two markers, Bx083_206 and Bx215_131, corresponding to a 1.1 Mb region in the diploid F. vesca reference genome. This region comprises 234 genes, including 15 flowering associated genes. Among these, the FLOWERING LOCUS T ( FT) is known to be a key activator of flowering. The close association between the PF trait and the Fa PFRU flanking markers was validated using an additional segregating population and genetic resources. This study lays the foundation for effective and rapid breeding of PF strawberry cultivars by MAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]