Genome-wide association-mapping for fruit quality traits in tomato

A diverse collection of 174 tomato plants was selected, including 123 accessions of cherry tomato (So lanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) and 51 accessions of heirloom cultivars (So lanum lycopersicum). Association-mapping for fruit nutritional and quality traits was conducted with 182 SSR using the mixed linear models. A total of 111 marker-trait associations (MTAs) (P < 0.005) were detected for ten measured traits. Most association loci were detected for fruit equatorial diameter, ascorbic acid and fruit weight, with 22, 22, 17 marker-trait associations, respectively. Co-localised quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and significant associations are compared, such as fw2.2, fw11.1, ED2a, brx2.1, PD3a, and PD9a, which validate this study. Moreover, we also compared previous genome-wide association studies and confirmed certain identified MTAs (e.g. CON30D-472, Z1707-10D) or genes, such as Solyc11g071840.1.1. Our results confirm some QTLs and highlight some new candidate chromosome regions with potential for further tomato fruit quality breeding.