Plant & Animal Genomes XVII Conference

January 10-14, 2009
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Evaluating The Association Between The F3h Gene And The Red/Yellow Fruit Color Trait In The Diploid Strawberry Model Species, Fragaria vesca.

Melanie E Shields , Thomas M Davis

  University of New Hampshire, Department of Biological Sciences, Rudman Hall, Durham, NH, 03824 USA

The genetic basis of fruit color variation, an important component of fruit quality in the octoploid, cultivated strawberry Fragaria xananassa is poorly understood. We are using the diploid model species Fragaria vesca in a broad genetic study of fruit pigmentation. A previous association study implicated the Flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3h) gene as the likely molecular identity of the classically defined c locus which governs a recessively inherited yellow/white (versus red) fruit color polymorphism. In a follow-up study, we are utilizing red-fruited F. vesca ssp. americana variety ‘Pawtuckaway’ (‘P’), collected from the wild in New Hampshire, and the yellow-fruited ‘Alpine’ cultivar ‘Yellow Wonder’ (‘YW’). As an evident possessor of the dominant wild type C allele, ‘Pawtuckaway’ was used to construct a large-insert (fosmid) library. An F3h probe detected six fosmid clones, and two were sequenced to elucidate the F3h gene neighborhood and obtain a complete genomic copy of the F3h gene. Predicted genes and ORFs in the fosmid contig were identified using FGENESH, and Blast searches of GenBank® NR and EST databases. ‘YW’ and ‘P’ were used as parents in the cross ‘YW’ x ‘P’, to establish an F₂ mapping population of 113 individuals, segregating for fruit color and for markers flanking the F3h gene. Preliminary analysis of segregation data has led us to re-evaluate the previously reported association between F3h and the red/yellow fruit color trait. This project is supported in part by grants from the National Research Initiative Plant Genome Program of USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.