title: Comparative assessment of sugar and malic acid composition in cultivated and wild apples.
abstract: Soluble sugar and malic acid contents in mature fruits of 364 apple accessions were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Fructose and sucrose represented the major components of soluble sugars in cultivated fruits, whilst fructose and glucose were the major items of sugars in wild fruits. Wild fruits were significantly more acidic than cultivated fruits, whilst the average concentration of total sugars and sweetness index were quite similar between cultivated and wild fruits. Thus, our study suggests that fruit acidity rather than sweetness is likely to have undergone selection during apple domestication. Additionally, malic acid content was positively correlated with glucose content and negatively correlated with sucrose content. This suggests that selection of fruit acidity must have an effect on the proportion of sugar components in apple fruits. Our study provides information that could be helpful for future apple breeding.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, PR China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquanlu, Beijing 100049, PR China.
authors.forename: Baiquan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Grape Sciences and Enology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, PR China; CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, PR China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquanlu, Beijing 100049, PR China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, PR China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquanlu, Beijing 100049, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, PR China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquanlu, Beijing 100049, PR China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, PR China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquanlu, Beijing 100049, PR China.
authors.forename: Collins
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ogutu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, PR China.
authors.forename: Shaohua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, PR China. Electronic address: yphan@wbgcas.cn.
authors.forename: Yuepeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Grape Sciences and Enology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, PR China; CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, PR China. Electronic address: bhwu@ibcas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Benhong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D008293:Malates / Q000032:analysis*; D027845:Malus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D008293:Malates; C030298:malic acid
keywords: Apple; Organic acids; Sugars; Sweetness