Investigation of fruit cracking mechanism by molecular methods in pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an important fruit species in terms of nutrient content and antioxidant properties. It is a common and valuable plant for use in health, cosmetic and industrial fields as well as indispensable in human nutrition. These characteristics lead to increases in pomegranate demand and increasing demands create pressures to increase production. However, many problems in fruit production cause decrease in production and serious economic losses. The most important of these problems is fruit cracking. Cultural practices and especially genetics are the factors causing the problem. By clarifying the genetic mechanism of fruit cracking problem and integrating the information obtained in breeding programs, it will make significant contributions to the development of commercial varieties with high nutritional composition, high yield, resistance to environmental factors and high added value. Nowadays, RNA Sequencing technology enables the effective elucidation of genetic information in a short time, genetic regulation, molecular elements, physiological, metabolic and biochemical functions and pathways related to functions. Illumina HiSeqTM 2000 sequencing platform was used to clarify the mechanism of fruit cracking in pomegranate and to identify the genes associated with the mechanism, transcriptome analysis was performed on fruit peel tissues of crack-sensitive İzmir-15 and crack-resistant Hicaznar cultivars. A total of 519 milion base readings and 22000 Unigen were determined as a result of sequencing. Transcriptome analysis revealed differences in expression profiles of cellular organelles, cell wall and membrane, organelle membranes, abiotic stress responses, intra and extracellular activity, cellulase catabolic process, vacuolar membrane, nuclease activity, chloroplast and plastid activity.