Fig. 3

Candidate gene validations by RT-qPCR in contrasting peach varieties for the SSC trait. A Characterization of SSC phenotype in three peach varieties, 'Rebus' (R), 'Summer Fire' (SF), and 'Venus' (V). Statistical analysis was performed with a one-way ANOVA test; significant differences were represented by an asterisk (****; p < 0.0001). B Fruit phenotype of the contrasting peach varieties for the SSC trait. Photographic record of the fruits' external (upper images) and internal (lower images) phenotypes in each selected variety. C Correlation analysis between each selected candidate gene's RT-qPCR expression values (left axis) and contrasting peach varieties' SSC phenotype (right axis)