Location: Physiology and Pathology of Tree Fruits Research
Project Number: 2094-30600-001-011-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2025
End Date: Aug 31, 2027
Objective:
1. Add additional cultivar years of storage trial RNA-Seq data to improve upon existing firmness models.
2. Establish a multi-cultivar genetic framework to study apple fruit quality changes (loss of firmness) during storage.
3. Begin development of LAMP assays for a short list of firmness model genes
Approach:
Using a combination of current and new data from Honaas' program, we will expand the scope of the project to include assay development as a first step to a commercializeable test.
We propose to grow an existing data set from 1 year to 4 years of RNA-Seq data representing 4 cultivar/years of postharvest storage time course experimental data. This adds to our recently published Gala data set, by adding another year of data for Gala, and two years of Scilate apple (marketed as EnvyTM apple).
The approach for Obj. 1 is to analyze in-hand Gala and EnvyTM apple samples from previous storage trials (unpublished), plus the samples from an in-progress EnvyTM storage trial.
For Obj. 2, the approach is a reciprocal modeling experiment, where we use closely related cultivars (Gala is a parent of Scilate) with complementary postharvest fruit quality traits. This creates a contrast of traits, while controlling for genetic differences that can confound across cultivar comprisons.
For Obj. 3, we will select high importance genes from the model and develop LAMP assays for future tests of gene activity that are faster, easier, and cheaper that qPCR. This will enhance the transferability of information developed in this project to commercially feasible biomarker tests.