Network analysis reveals the co-expression of sugar and aroma genes in the Chinese white pear (Pyrus bretschneideri)

The quality of pear and other fruit affects their economic value by determining their attractiveness to the consumer. For this reason the two most important quality traits, namely the sugar content and the aroma, have been the focus of much research. This research has been conducted both on the biochemical characteristics of sugar and aroma of fruits and on the activity of enzymes related to their metabolism. In this study, by analyzing the transcriptome of pear fruit, we built the first co-expression network of the genes related to sugar metabolism and those related to aroma, to reveal their connections. Genes that encode beta-glucosidases and sorbitol dehydrogenases are shown to be the hub genes within this network. This study has demonstrated the power of such network analysis for the first time in a non-model organism. Our research can lead to new discoveries that go beyond the previous focus on individual genes.