Identification of Volatile and Softening-Related Genes Using Digital Gene Expression Profiles in Peach. Prunus persica

Digital gene expression (DGE) profiles based on Illumina RNA-seq technology were applied to investigate the different gene expression patterns in peach fruit mesocarp of four commercial cultivars (‘Hu Jing Mi Lu’-‘HJ’, ‘Yu Lu’-‘YL’, ‘Zhong Hua Shou Tao’-‘ZH’ and ‘Jin Xiu Huang Tao’-‘JX’) and at three ripening stages of ‘HJ’. The aim was to identify the key candidate genes related to the formation of volatile compounds and fruit softening, and to get an insight into molecular mechanisms associated with these two traits from a full transcriptome view. The large set of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and the annotation of each gene provides valuable information for research on other fruit traits Overall design: Twelve digital gene expression profiles based on Illumina RNA-seq technology were applied to investigate the gene expression pattern in peach fruit mesocarp of four commercial cultivars (‘Hu Jing Mi Lu’-‘HJ’, ‘Yu Lu’-‘YL’, ‘Zhong Hua Shou Tao’-‘ZH’ and ‘Jin Xiu Huang Tao’-‘JX’) and at three ripening stages of ‘HJ’. The firmness and the content of seven volatile compounds especially lactone and linalool was assessed to detect candidate genes which are associated with these two traits