Variation and correlation analysis of polyphenolic compounds in Malus germplasm

To clarify the variation and characteristics of polyphenolic compounds in Malus germplasm, and also to provide a theoretical basis for the application of apple landraces in China, polyphenolic compounds and concentrations were analysed in 103 Malus accessions from China using ultra performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The apple landraces of North China, which should have undergone more artificial selection than those of Northwest China and Northeast China, are used as table fruit, or as parents for breeding table varieties with high polyphenolic concentrations from. Wild species have been appropriated as parents for historical hybridisation of new genetic resources with high polyphenolic concentrations. The apple landraces ‘Bandayulenggunzi #1’ and ‘Duanzhigunzi’ possess the greatest concentrations of total polyphenols detected, and so could be used as table fruit by consumers directly, or as parents for breeding varieties with high polyphenolic concentrations from by breeders. The apple landraces originating from North China, Northwest China and Northeast China, are significantly separated by linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and the wild species and apple landraces are evidently discriminated by LDA as well. Hierarchical cluster analysis of polyphenolic compounds of Malus accessions resulted in clusters derived from closely-related biochemical pathways.