The genetics of fruit skin separation in date palm

The genetics of fruit skin separation in date palm | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The genetics of fruit skin separation in date palm Shameem Younuskunju, Yasmin A. Mohamoud, Lisa Sara Mathew, Klaus F. X. Mayer, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4685329/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 06 Nov, 2024 Read the published version in BMC Plant Biology → Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The physical appearance of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruit (dates) is important for its market value. Many date-producing countries experience significant financial losses due to the poor appearance of the fruit, skin separation or puffiness being a major reason. Previous research showed evidence linking the skin separation phenotype to environmental conditions. In this study, we show that there is both an environmental and genetic contribution to the fruit skin separation phenotype. We show that beyond environmental factors, genetics is a strong contributor to the most extreme skin separation in some cultivars. To investigate this further, a genome-wide association study was conducted using genome data from 199 samples collected from 14 countries that identified nine genetic loci associated with this phenotype and investigated genes in these regions that may contribute to the phenotype overall. Identifying the genetic factors may help better understand the biology and pathways that lead to the environmental effects on skin separation and improve commercial date production. In conclusion, our key finding is that both environmental and genetic factors contribute to skin separation variation, and improvements in environmental factors alone cannot overcome the extreme level of variation observed in some cultivars. Date palm Significant SNP Skin separation Date palm fruit skin GWAS puffiness microcracks Association study Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Additionalfile1.xlsx Additionalfile2.xlsx Additionalfile3.xlsx Additionalfile4.xlsx Supplementaryfile.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 06 Nov, 2024 Read the published version in BMC Plant Biology → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 26 Aug, 2024 Reviews received at journal 21 Aug, 2024 Reviews received at journal 20 Aug, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Aug, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Aug, 2024 Reviews received at journal 02 Aug, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Jul, 2024 Editor invited by journal 12 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 12 Jul, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 12 Jul, 2024 First submitted to journal 04 Jul, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4685329","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":336199223,"identity":"7dc0dbb0-3f03-4242-b2a6-0d24d5d7a9fc","order_by":0,"name":"Shameem Younuskunju","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shameem","middleName":"","lastName":"Younuskunju","suffix":""},{"id":336199224,"identity":"8e1987d6-c920-4d00-91f4-89e7c67775e4","order_by":1,"name":"Yasmin A. 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