Integration of Physiological Analysis and Untargeted Metabolomics to Explore Differences in Quality Among Four Sweet Cherry Cultivars.

Abstract

This study compared the quality parameters of four popular sweet cherry fruits ("Tieton", "Pioneer", "Sunburst", and "Huangmi") in Shanxi Province and used untargeted metabolomics to analyze the differential metabolites (DMEs) among them. The results showed that the four fruits have distinct differences in their skin color, texture, size, weight, and solid-to-acid ratio. Notably, "Huangmi" fruit showed greater physical damage and bitterness and lower overall likeability than the other three fruits after short-distance road transportation. Untargeted metabolomics identified 97 DMEs among the four fruits. Specifically, the levels of 44 DMEs (such as cellobionate, allose, L-histidine, kaempferol, ascorbic acid, cinnamaldehyde, and Qing Hau Sau), 22 DMEs (such as raffinose, neochlorogenic acid, epicatechin, carvone, and (S)-norcoclaurine), 9 DMEs (such as melibiitol, 3'-ketolactose, and all-trans-retinoic acid), and 3 DMEs (D-maltose, shikimic acid, and selenocysteine) were highest in the "Huangmi", "Sunburst", "Pioneer", and "Tieton" fruits, respectively. Moreover, the red cultivars ("Tieton", "Pioneer", and "Sunburst") showed a higher citrulline content than the yellow cultivar ("Huangmi"). This study can serve as a reference for cultivar breeding, market segmentation, growers, and related industries, laying a foundation for further research on food nutrition and human health.