Grapes (Vitis vinifera) are of great economic importance worldwide. We genetically dissected a table grape breeding population, using hidden Markov models (HMM) applied to quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses. We evaluated and dissected the following traits: total number of clusters, leaf score, peduncle length, cluster length, number of berries, weight of 10 berries, average seed number, na...

Grape berry composition mainly consists of primary and secondary metabolites. Both are sensitive to environment and viticultural management. As a consequence, climate change can affect berry composition and modify wine quality and typicity. Leaf removal techniques can impact berry composition by modulating the source-to-sink balance and, in turn, may mitigate some undesired effects due to clima...

Dry eye disease is a disorder in tear film physiology, which leads to various abnormal states of ocular surface cells. In the present study, we evaluated the potential usefulness of orally applied maqui berry (Aristotelia chilensis) extract and the constituent anthocyanin as a preventative intervention in dry eye. Tear secretion capacity was evaluated following the oral administration of maqui ...

Red coloration of apple (Malus x domestica) skin is an important determinant of consumer preference and marketability. Anthocyanins are responsible for this coloration, and their accumulation is positively correlated with the expression level of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. Regulation of expression of these genes is believed to be controlled by MYB transcription factors, and the MYB transcri...

Grape berry development and ripening are under complex regulation by the nutrients, hormones, and environment cues sensed by the berry. However, the biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying these types of regulation are poorly understood. A simplified but realistic model system that enables fruit growth conditions to be modulated easily will facilitate the deciphering of these mechanisms...

To better understand the effects of sugar accumulation on red color development of foliage during autumn, we compared carbohydrate concentration, anthocyanin expression and xylem pressure potential of foliage on girdled versus non-girled (control) branches of 12 mature, open-grown sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) trees. Half of the study trees were known to exhibit mostly yellow foliar color...

The effect of fertilizer rate on fruit quality parameters in the black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa [Michx] Ell.) cv. `Viking' was studied over three years. A combined N±P±K fertilizer was applied in different rates. Plant height, yield, berry weight, anthocyanin content, content of brown compounds, content of soluble solids, anthocyanin composition and total acidity were recorded for the dif...

In the last decade, great progress has been made in clarifying the main determinants of anthocyanin accumulation in grape berry skin. However, the molecular details of the fine variation among cultivars, which ultimately contributes to wine typicity, are still not completely understood. To shed light on this issue, the grapes of 170 F1 progeny from the cross 'Syrah'×'Pinot Noir' were characteri...

Among the dramatic changes occurring during grape berry (Vitis vinifera) development, those affecting the flavonoid pathway have provoked a number of investigations in the last 10 years. In addition to producing several compounds involved in the protection of the berry and the dissemination of the seeds, final products of this pathway also play a critical role in berry and wine quality. In this...

1756-4646/$ see front matter Published by doi:10.1016/j.jff.2011.10.007 * Corresponding author. Address: USDA, ARS fax: +1 208 722 8166. E-mail addresses: [email protected] Lingonberries and their products are popular and generally accessible in Europe, though in the US they are uncommon and considered a minor berry/fruit crop. The on-going interest in potential health benefits from berry ...