• Plants produce a range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), some of which are perceived by the human olfactory system, contributing to a myriad flavors. Despite the importance of flavor for consumer preference, most plant breeding programs have neglected it, mainly because of the costs of phenotyping and the complexity of disentangling the role of VOCs in human perception.
• To develop molecular breeding tools aimed at improving fruit flavor, we carried out target genotyping of and VOC extraction from a blueberry population. Metabolite genome‐wide association analysis was used to elucidate the genetic architecture, while predictive models were tested to prove that VOCs can be accurately predicted using genomic information. A historical sensory panel was considered to assess how the volatiles influenced consumers.
• By gathering genomics, metabolomics, and the sensory panel, we demonstrated that VOCs are controlled by a few major genomic regions, some of which harbor biosynthetic enzyme‐coding genes; can be accurately predicted using molecular markers; and can enhance or decrease consumers' overall liking.
• Here we emphasized how the understanding of the genetic basis and the role of VOCs in consumer preference can assist breeders in developing more flavorful cultivars at a more inexpensive and accelerated pace.

中文翻译：

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全基因组挥发物关联揭示了蓝莓风味的候选基因座

• 植物会产生一系列挥发性有机化合物（VOC），其中一些会被人的嗅觉系统感知，从而产生了无数种风味。尽管风味对于消费者偏爱很重要，但大多数植物育种计划都忽略了风味，这主要是因为表型分析的成本以及难以区分VOC在人类感知中的作用的复杂性。
• 为了开发旨在改善水果风味的分子育种工具，我们进行了蓝莓种群的目标基因分型和VOC提取。使用代谢物全基因组关联分析来阐明遗传结构，同时测试了预测模型以证明可以使用基因组信息准确预测VOC。考虑使用历史感官小组来评估挥发物如何影响消费者。
• 通过收集基因组学，代谢组学和感觉小组，我们证明了VOC受几个主要的基因组区域控制，其中一些包含生物合成酶编码基因。可以使用分子标记准确预测；并可以增强或降低消费者的整体喜好。
• 在这里，我们强调了对遗传基础和挥发性有机化合物在消费者偏好中的作用的理解如何能够帮助育种者以更便宜和更快速的速度开发出更多风味的品种。