Tropical fruits are in high demand for their flavor and for their functional composition because these compounds are considered nutraceuticals. Passion fruit production is of economic importance to Ecuador; however, several Passiflora species are grown and each has to be analyzed to identify their phytochemical composition. In this study, the polyphenol, flavonoid, carotenoid, vitamin C, sugar and organic acid contents were determined. Six different Passiflora spp. germplasms were analyzed, coming from Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa, Passiflora alata, Passiflora edulis f. edulis and unidentified Passiflora species (local germplasm). Measurement techniques included reflectometry for vitamin C, spectrophotometry for antioxidant compounds and HPLC for sugars and organic acids. Data were analyzed by principal component analysis, correlation and analysis of variance. Results showed that INIAP 2009 and P10 showed a high amount of polyphenols, antioxidant activity and citric content. Sweet passion fruit had the lowest vitamin C content while Gulupa showed the highest content. In terms of the local germplasm, POR1 showed the lowest content of flavonoids while PICH1 had high flavonoid and carotenoid content. Polyphenols were the main compounds that influenced antioxidant activity. This phytochemical information adds value to passion fruit as a nutraceutical source.

There are several species of passion fruit grown in South America. However, there is a lack of information about the mineral content in their pulp. Thus, the objective of the present research was to determine the mineral content in the pulp of different germplasms of passion fruit [Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa (INIAP 2009 and P10), P. alata (Sweet passion fruit), P. edulis f. edulis (Gulupa) and Passiflora sp. (Criollo POR1 and Criollo PICH1)] grown in Ecuador and to determine their relationship with relevant fruit quality traits. The results showed that high Mg content was associated with less peel thickness, soluble solids was negatively related to K and B content, and vitamin C was negatively related to S content. INIAP 2009 had high titratable acidity and fruit weight but low N and Na; P10 showed the highest contents of N, K, Na, Mn and fruit weight but less P, Mg, and Fe; sweet passion fruit showed high S, Zn, Cu, soluble solids, and peel thickness but low K, Ca, B, and titratable acidity; Gulupa had high Mg, B, and Zn but low S, Fe, and Mn; Criollo POR1 showed high N and Fe but low Zn; and Criollo PICH1 showed high P, Ca, Mg, and Cu but low soluble solids and peel thickness. These results provide additional information on passion fruit germplasm grown in Ecuador and constitutes a reference for further breeding programs.

Seed is a fundamental tool to carry out breeding processes and for the propagation of the crops; however, seed propagation generally has low and irregular germination. Passion fruit (Passiflora) species are economically important for Ecuador, which is the main exporter of passion fruit concentrate in Latin America. Ecuadorian farmers propagate new plants by seeds to establish new passion fruit orchards or to extend their cultivated area. The objective of this research was to determine the differences in germination and seedling development with the application of priming methods in five genotypes of passion fruit belonging to three different taxa that are of commercial use in Ecuador. The genotypes used were: INIAP 2009 and P10 (P. edulis f. flavicarpa), Gulupa (P. edulis f. edulis), and local germplasms POR1 (P. edulis f. flavicarpa) and PICH1 (P. maliformis). The priming methods were: water (control), hydrogen peroxide at 15%, potassium nitrate at 1%, PEG 6000 at −1.2 MPa, and gibberellic acid at 500 ppm. The results showed that there was a genotype-response depending on the priming method. Nevertheless, Polietilenoglicol (PEG 6000) could be considered as a promising method to encourage seed germination and promote seedling growth in the Passiflora species. More research regarding the use of this compound has to be carried out in order to determine in depth the physiological processes related to its functions to improve seed germination as well as production of vigorous seedlings.

Microsatellites (simple sequence repeats, SSRs) that consist of repetitive sequences of one to six bases are ubiquitous in most eukaryotic genomes. The use of molecular markers for this region is efficacious in molecular-assisted breeding, molecular phylogenetics, and population genetics. Recently, the detection of a number of SSRs using a high-throughput DNA sequencing assay has become possible. Particularly, microsatellite capture sequencing using our developed protocol can detect SSRs more effectively by enriching the DNA library using an SSR probe. Our protocol used in this study demonstrates the possibility of using low-input DNA (≥1 ng), and while the use of restriction enzymes was more suitable for identifying the heterozygous genotype than sonication was, sonication facilitated the detection of various SSR flanking regions with both species-specific and common characteristics more than restriction enzyme digestion did. Moreover, a simulation analysis using various scale reads estimated that a few thousand SSRs could be detected from 50 K reads per sample. Furthermore, we described an in silico polymorphic detection and phylogenetic analysis method based on microsatellite capture sequencing data.