TY - JOUR
T1 - Genomic variation drives plant flavor diversification
AU - Hu, Huimin
AU - Hao, Yanwei
AU - Zhou, Yiwei
AU - Zhang, Xia
AU - Xia, Rui
AU - Liao, Pan
N1 - We apologize to colleagues whose work could not be cited because of space limitations. This work was partially supported by the Early Career Scheme grant from the RGC (Project No. 22100923 to P.L.), the NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme (Project No. N_HKBU201/23 to P.L.), the Areas of Excellence Scheme from the RGC (AoE/M-402/25-N), the PROCORE-France/HK Joint Research Scheme (Project No. F-HKBU201/23), the Department Start-up fund of Hong Kong Baptist University (Project No. BIOL-22-23-01), Hong Kong Baptist University, Research Committee, Initiation Grant—Faculty Niche Research Areas (IG-FNRA) 2022/23 (RC-FNRA-IG/22-23/SCI/01), and the Innovation and Technology Fund of Innovation Technology Commission: Funding Support to State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology (to P.L.). The authors acknowledge the facility support from the Advanced Life Sciences and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (LSMS) of Hong Kong Baptist University and the Wu Jieh Yee Institute of Translational Chinese Medicine Research, HKBU. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or the Innovation and Technology Commission. We also acknowledge support from the National Key Research and Development Program Project (2024YFD1600301), the Key Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province (2022B0202070003), and the National Science Foundation of China (#32372665, #32072547) to R.X.
Publisher copyright:
© 2026 The Author(s). Journal of Integrative Plant Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
PY - 2026/5/10
Y1 - 2026/5/10
N2 - Plant flavor diversity arises from genomic variation across species and cultivars, yet the mechanisms linking natural genomic variation to flavor-related phenotypes remain insufficiently integrated. Here, we systematically review how diverse forms of genomic variation reshape the biosynthesis, transport, and accumulation of flavor-related metabolites, thereby driving diversification in sweetness, acidity, bitterness, piquancy, astringency, and aroma. We further integrate evidence from genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and functional validation to outline a mechanistic framework linking genomic variation to the molecular and metabolic basis of flavor phenotypes. We then examine how artificial intelligence-assisted breeding and precision gene editing can accelerate the identification of causal variants and enable targeted improvement of flavor-related traits. This framework establishes plant flavor as a mechanism-based target for plant improvement, with broad implications for quality, nutrition, and sustainability.
AB - Plant flavor diversity arises from genomic variation across species and cultivars, yet the mechanisms linking natural genomic variation to flavor-related phenotypes remain insufficiently integrated. Here, we systematically review how diverse forms of genomic variation reshape the biosynthesis, transport, and accumulation of flavor-related metabolites, thereby driving diversification in sweetness, acidity, bitterness, piquancy, astringency, and aroma. We further integrate evidence from genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and functional validation to outline a mechanistic framework linking genomic variation to the molecular and metabolic basis of flavor phenotypes. We then examine how artificial intelligence-assisted breeding and precision gene editing can accelerate the identification of causal variants and enable targeted improvement of flavor-related traits. This framework establishes plant flavor as a mechanism-based target for plant improvement, with broad implications for quality, nutrition, and sustainability.
KW - aroma
KW - artificial intelligence
KW - genomic variation
KW - plant flavor
KW - sugar and acid
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105038145997
U2 - 10.1111/jipb.70283
DO - 10.1111/jipb.70283
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 42108611
SN - 1672-9072
JO - Journal of Integrative Plant Biology
JF - Journal of Integrative Plant Biology
ER -
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure