Microsatellite-Based Molecular Diversity in Sour Cherry Genotypes (Prunus cerasus L.) Cultivated in Hungary

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The research provides the genetic diversity of nineteen sour cherry genotypes from the Fruit Research Institute in Érd, Hungary using SSR markers. Overall, the manuscript is technically sound, and the research ideas appear justified. Listed are some comments regarding the submitted manuscript:

1.    Line 63 – Line 75: It is greater if the author provides more applications of microsatellites, or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the molecular diversity? How many plants have used this method for molecular diversity?

2.    Line 212 – Line 215:  I have checek this paper “Molecular characterization of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) genotypes using peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] SSR sequences” (https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.hdy.6800101). What is different between this study with previous publications? Please give the discussion in the discussion section.

3.    The manuscript does not have sufficient most-recent references. The introduction should include the most recent references. A few more references for 2022 would have been better. The references of 2023 will be required as 2023 is extremely near pending the processing of the manuscript as the paper is going to be published in 2023.

 There are a lot of mistakes in writing in English languages (such as Table 1, Line 87; Table 2, Line 86; Table 4, Line 172…).

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper investigates the genetic diversity of sour cherry genotypes cultivated in Hungary using microsatellite markers. Nineteen genotypes were analyzed, and twelve SSR markers were used. The results indicate a range of two to ten alleles per locus, with an average of 4.67 alleles. All the markers displayed polymorphic patterns, with CPPCT022, BPPCT041, and BPPCT030 being the most informative markers. The study also explores the correlation between molecular markers and phenotypic traits, such as flowering time, ripening time, and fruit weight. The marker PceGA025 showed a significant correlation with flowering and ripening time, while BPPCT002, BPPCT007, and UCDCH17 were significantly correlated with ripening. This research provides valuable insights into the genetic diversity of sour cherries and highlights the potential of microsatellite markers in studying this species. However, i have some minor revision befor it can be further processed. 

 

1. In sentence 28, it would be helpful to mention some examples of economically important stone fruit plants within the Rosaceae family. Please revisit the whole introduction as most of the paragraphs are very short. Arrange the whole introduction into 3-4 paragraphs and clearly state the objective of the study in the last pargraph. 

2. Sentence 32: It would be useful to provide a reference for the information regarding the number of species in the Prunus genus.

3. In sentence 71, it would be beneficial to provide references for the development and application of microsatellites in sour cherries and other improtant crops. The following bibliography would be helpful for supporting the claims: 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-022-01493-5

https://doi.org/10.1111/pbr.13016

4. In sentence 109, instead of "Cy-5 fluorescent label," it would be more accurate to specify the specific dye or fluorophore used for labeling.

5. In sentence 112, it would be helpful to mention the specific method or algorithm used for hierarchical cluster analysis, as it may vary among software versions.

6. In sentence 115, it would be useful to clarify whether the classification into 4-4 groups based on flowering time, ripening time, and fruit weight means four groups for each trait or a combined set of four groups across the traits.

7. In sentence 218, it would be beneficial to provide a brief explanation of the significance of Ma039a being used for the first time in Prunus cerasus L.

8. In sentence 251, it would be useful to provide more details about the different techniques used to analyze the plant materials that could potentially explain the observed difference in allele numbers for specific genotypes.

9. In sentence 261, it would be helpful to acknowledge the limitation of not obtaining the specific allele size suggested by Khadivi-Khub [55] and emphasize the need for further studies with segregating generations to establish a correlation.

minor spell check required 

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Editor,

Thank you for the opportunity to review the manuscript entitled "Microsatellite based molecular diversity in sour cherry geno-2 types (Prunus cerasus L.) cultivated in Hungary" . I have carefully evaluated the study and provided suggestions for  revisions to strengthen the manuscript.

Overall, the research investigates an important topic using molecular markers to characterize genetic variation in sour cherry germplasm. The results provide useful insights into population structure, genetic relationships, and markers associated with fruit traits. However, the study has some limitations in terms of sample size, marker density, and analysis methods. With appropriate modifications, the study could make a significant contribution to knowledge in sour cherry genetics and breeding.

In summary, with the suggested modifications, the manuscript has the potential to become a good fit for publication in your journal. I encourage the authors to address my comments carefully and clarify any points of confusion. Please let me know if you require any clarifications regarding my review. I would be happy to evaluate a revised version of the manuscript.

Thank you once again for the opportunity to review this work. I hope my feedback proves useful in improving the manuscript. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any additional questions.

 

1)       Please Increase the number of sour cherry genotypes analyzed. A larger sample size would improve representativeness and power.

 

2)       Please Validate the associated markers in a larger populations to confirm their correlations with fruit traits.

 

3)       Please Test additional microsatellite markers to obtain a more comprehensive view of genetic diversity.

 

4)       Please Analyze more fruit traits to identify markers for a wider range of breeding goals.

 

5)       Please  Combine SSRs with other marker types like SNPs to leverage complementary strengths.

6)       Please Perform phylogenetic analysis to determine evolutionary relationships between genotypes.

 

7)       Please Use additional markers to confirm identity of closely related genotypes.

 

8)       Please Explore the correlation between genetic diversity and adaptability to evaluate diverse germplasm.

 

9)       Please  Consider sequencing a subset of genotypes for advanced genomic analyses.

 

10)    Develop a sour cherry genetic linkage map to enable fine mapping of important traits.

 

11)    Characterize genetic variation at DNA level to identify variants underlying key agronomic traits.

 

12)    Perform GWAS to identify genes/loci associated with fruit traits to guide breeding and biotechnology.

 

13)    Investigate population structure to account for biases in association analyses.

 

14)    Add morphological characterization of genotypes to complement molecular data.

 

15)    Assess genetic variation over multiple years to evaluate environmental impacts.

 

16)    Extend analysis to progeny from crosses to enable pedigree tracing and selection.

 

17)    Apply identified markers in MAS to accelerate sour cherry breeding.

 

18)    Publish data in an open access repository to maximize reuse and verification.

 

19)    Seek external funding to support larger-scale future studies.

 

20)    Provide more details on materials and methods for reproducibility.

 

21)    Discuss limitations and challenges faced in the study.

 

22)    Compare results with previous studies of sour cherry genetic diversity.

 

23)    Thoroughly interpret results in context of sour cherry breeding.

 

24)    Relate findings to potential uses in resistance screening and trait mapping.

 

25)    Draw clear conclusions based on results and discuss their implications.

 

26)    Make recommendations for future research directions.

 

27)    Improve figure and table captions for clarity and comprehensiveness.

 

28)    Add citation information for table sources.

 

English should be polished by native speaker

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

I have agreed to the revised manuscript for publication.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We want to express our high gratitude for your significant work and the detailed review. We learned from your comments, suggestions. Thank you very much, we highly appreciate your efforts.

Respectfully Yours

The authors

Reviewer 3 Report

The author has revised the manuscript to meet publication requirements

No

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We want to express our high gratitude for your significant work and the detailed review. We learned from your comments, suggestions. Thank you very much, we highly appreciate your efforts.

Respectfully Yours

The authors