CB23 - Comparing antioxidant gene expression of two domestic and wild passionfruit species by RT-qPCR
SCURS Disciplines
Biochemistry
Document Type
General Poster
Invited Presentation Choice
Not Applicable
Abstract
Passiflora produce passionfruit, a widely popular food of great nutritional value, being especially high in antioxidants such as flavonoids and ascorbic acid. There are many wild Passiflora species throughout the world, including P. incarnata of the southeastern United States, which has long been cultivated for its edible fruit. Given the value and overall popularity of Passiflora and the relatively easy availability of P. incarnata, we consider the possibility that P. incarnata could be an important dietary alternative to domestic passionfruit. This study aimed to determine the nutritional value of P. incarnata compared to P. edulis var. edulis, a common domestic variety, by measuring their expression of genes associated with antioxidant functions. We purchased domestic P. edulis var. edulis from a local grocery store and collected wild P. incarnata from a residential area. RNA was extracted from the juices of each species and subjected to RT-qPCR with a target set of eight gene primers. We found that seven out of our eight target genes were expressed more in P. edulis var. edulis. Of these seven, five significant results showed that P. edulis var. edulis expressed at least twice as much of the target as P. incarnata, with fold change ratios ranging from 2.27016 (GR1) to 11.2492 (FSD1). However, one insignificant result intriguingly showed a single gene being expressed much more in P. incarnata. While our results mainly affirm the dietary value of P. edulis, they also show decent value in P. incarnata and suggest a precedent for further research on its genes. To our knowledge, genetic research on P. incarnata has not previously been done in this detail, so it could be a productive direction for future studies.
Keywords
gene expression, RT-qPCR, antioxidant, passionfruit, passiflora
Start Date
10-4-2026 9:30 AM
Location
University Readiness Center Greatroom
End Date
10-4-2026 11:30 AM
CB23 - Comparing antioxidant gene expression of two domestic and wild passionfruit species by RT-qPCR
University Readiness Center Greatroom
Passiflora produce passionfruit, a widely popular food of great nutritional value, being especially high in antioxidants such as flavonoids and ascorbic acid. There are many wild Passiflora species throughout the world, including P. incarnata of the southeastern United States, which has long been cultivated for its edible fruit. Given the value and overall popularity of Passiflora and the relatively easy availability of P. incarnata, we consider the possibility that P. incarnata could be an important dietary alternative to domestic passionfruit. This study aimed to determine the nutritional value of P. incarnata compared to P. edulis var. edulis, a common domestic variety, by measuring their expression of genes associated with antioxidant functions. We purchased domestic P. edulis var. edulis from a local grocery store and collected wild P. incarnata from a residential area. RNA was extracted from the juices of each species and subjected to RT-qPCR with a target set of eight gene primers. We found that seven out of our eight target genes were expressed more in P. edulis var. edulis. Of these seven, five significant results showed that P. edulis var. edulis expressed at least twice as much of the target as P. incarnata, with fold change ratios ranging from 2.27016 (GR1) to 11.2492 (FSD1). However, one insignificant result intriguingly showed a single gene being expressed much more in P. incarnata. While our results mainly affirm the dietary value of P. edulis, they also show decent value in P. incarnata and suggest a precedent for further research on its genes. To our knowledge, genetic research on P. incarnata has not previously been done in this detail, so it could be a productive direction for future studies.