Investigation of soft-hard seeds formation mechanism by molecular, histological and biochemical methods in pomegranate (Punica granatum)

Pomegranate is widely spread and consumed in the world and our country. Fruit color and soft-hard seeds are very important two factors in the consumption of pomegranate. The most important factor affecting consumption of pomegranate is the acidity after fruit color and soft-seed. The criteria already mentioned are controlled by polygenic characters in view of breeding studies on pomegranate. In this study, candidate genes responsible for the formation of soft-hard seeds in pomegranate fruits were investigated with RNA-transcriptome sequencing method. For this purpose, soft-seed "33N26", and the hard-seed "Hicaznar" varieties defined previously conducted studies were used. In the study, fruits from the two defined varieties were taken at intervals after pollination and fertilization. The fruits were opened and seeds taken and used in RNA-Seq analysis. Histological analyses were performed to understand histological mechanism of soft-hard seed formation. After histological analysis, the correct stages were determined to start molecular analysis. Total RNA isolation and isolation were performed after choosing all samples for molecular analysis. Amount 59264 unigenes were identified as a result of all sequences. After GO analysis 12328 unigenes functions were determined. 27698 unigenes pathways were determined by the KEGG analysis. In the result of the project, candidate genes associated with lignificaiton on pomegranate have been identified.