Deletion of beta-fructofuranosidase (invertase) genes is associated with sucrose content in Date Palm fruit

AbstractThe fruit of date palm trees are an important part of the diet for a large portion of the Middle East and North Africa. The fruit is consumed both fresh and dry and can be stored dry for extended periods of time. Date fruits vary significantly across hundreds of cultivars identified in the main regions of cultivation. Most dried date fruit are low in sucrose but high in glucose and fructose. However, high sucrose content is a distinctive feature of some date fruit and affects flavor as well as texture and water retention. To identify the genes controlling high sucrose content we analyzed date fruit metabolomics for association with genotype data from 121 date fruits. We found signif…