Quality and yield are the
primary concerns in kiwifruit breeding, but research on the genetic mechanisms
of fruit size, shape, and ascorbic acid (ASA) content is currently very
limited, which restricts the development of kiwifruit molecular breeding. In this study, we obtained a total of
8.88 million highly reliable single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers
from 140 individuals from the natural hybrid offspring of Actinidia eriantha cv. ‘White’ using whole genome resequencing technology. A genome-wide association study was conducted
on eight key agronomic traits, including single fruit weight, fruit shape, ASA
content, and the number of inflorescences per branch. A total of 59 genetic loci containing
potential functional genes were located, and candidate genes related to single
fruit weight, fruit length, ASA content, number of inflorescences per branch
and other traits were identified within the candidate interval, such as AeWUSCHEL, AeCDK1 (cell cycle dependent kinase), AeAO1 (ascorbic oxidase)
and AeCO1 (CONSTANS-like 4).
After constructing an RNAi vector for AeAO1 and injecting it into
the fruit of cv. ‘Midao 31’ to interfere with the expression of the AeAO1 gene, the results showed that the activity of ascorbic oxidase in the fruit of
‘Midao 31’ significantly decreased, while the content of ASA significantly
increased. This study provides valuable
insights into the genetic basis of variation in A. eriantha fruit
traits, which may benefit molecular marker-assisted breeding efforts.