title: A microRNA allele that emerged prior to apple domestication may underlie fruit size evolution.
abstract: The molecular genetic mechanisms underlying fruit size remain poorly understood in perennial crops, despite size being an important agronomic trait. Here we show that the expression level of a microRNA gene (miRNA172) influences fruit size in apple. A transposon insertional allele of miRNA172 showing reduced expression associates with large fruit in an apple breeding population, whereas over-expression of miRNA172 in transgenic apple significantly reduces fruit size. The transposon insertional allele was found to be co-located with a major fruit size quantitative trait locus, fixed in cultivated apples and their wild progenitor species with relatively large fruit. This finding supports the view that the selection for large size in apple fruit was initiated prior to apple domestication, likely by large mammals, before being subsequently strengthened by humans, and also helps to explain why signatures of genetic bottlenecks and selective sweeps are normally weaker in perennial crops than in annual crops.
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Jia-Long
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.|Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (Ministry of Education), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 360, F-91405, Orsay, France.|CNRS, F-91405, Orsay, France.
authors.forename: Amandine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cornille
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Sumathi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomes
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Sakuntala
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karunairetnam
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bassett
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Havelock North, 4157, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Whitworth
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rees-George
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Havelock North, 4157, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Chandra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ranatunga
authors.affiliation: Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 360, F-91405, Orsay, France.|CNRS, F-91405, Orsay, France.
authors.forename: Alodie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Snirc
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ross
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crowhurst
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Nihal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: de Silva
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Havelock North, 4157, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Satish
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chagné
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Havelock North, 4157, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Vincent G M
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Bus
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Havelock North, 4157, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Richard K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Volz
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Erik H A
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Rikkerink
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.affiliation: Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 360, F-91405, Orsay, France.|CNRS, F-91405, Orsay, France.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Giraud
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.|School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: MacDiarmid
authors.affiliation: The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Andrew P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Gleave
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D005638:Fruit / Q000235:genetics*; D027845:Malus / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: APETALA2; Malus × domestica; domestication; fruit size; microRNA