Pigment composition analysis of fruit pulp in the recombinant progenies reveals the polygenic nature of pulp color inheritance in guava ( Psidium guajava L.)

Guava ( Psidium guajav a L.) is a nutritionally rich fruit exhibiting white, yellow, pink, and purple variants for pulp color. To understand the genetic and molecular basis of pulp color, 35 F 1 s obtained from colored/white crosses and their parents were characterized for pulp color. Black guava (BG) had a rare peel and pulp color with the least amount of lycopene, similar to white-pulped parental genotypes. BG/white crosses gave rise to only white progenies while pink/white crosses segregated into pink, yellow, and white F 1 s. This confirmed that the pigment responsible for color in BG is not lycopene and the pink-pulped parents are heterozygous for the gene(s) governing pulp color. Additional 74 F 1 s-generated confirmed that the white pulp color inheritance is homozygous recessive in guava. Pigment composition analysis of all the colored F 1 s (18/ 35) and the three colored parents revealed that lycopene was present in all the 21 samples but at a wider range (0.16–22.56 mg/100 g). Zeaxanthin was also present in all the samples except two F 1 s. On the contrary, lutein was found only in five F 1 progenies but not in any of the pink-pulped parents. Overall, the pigment composition analysis of F 1 s and their respective parents revealed that the pulp color in guava is a polygenic trait. We identified 12 distinct SNPs between pink and white-pulped guava genotypes in the PSY1 gene. These variations can be used to develop molecular markers for marker assisted selection of pulp color in guava breeding.