Grape berry development is a highly coordinated and intricate process. Herein, we analyzed the phenotypic and transcriptomic patterns of Victoria (VT) and Flame Seedless (FS) grape varieties during berry development. Physiological analysis and transcriptomic sequencing were performed at four berry developmental phases. VT berry size was comparatively larger to the FS variety. At maturity, 80 days postanthesis (DPA), the FS soluble solids were 61.8% higher than VT. Further, 4889 and 2802 differentially expressed genes were identified from VT and FS 40 DPA to 80 DPA development stages, respectively. VvSWEET15, VvHXK, and MYB44 genes were up-regulated during the postanthesis period, while bHLH14, linked to glucose metabolism, was gradually down-regulated during berry development. These genes may have significant roles in berry development, ripening, and sugar accumulation.
Keywords: berry ripening; gene expression; grapes; sugar accumulation; transcriptome sequencing.
© 2020 The Authors. Published by FEBS Press and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.