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Analysis of institutional authors

Bielsa, Francisco JavierAuthorErrea, PilarAuthorIrisarri, PatriciaAuthorPina, AnaAuthor

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September 18, 2025
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Exploring phenotypic diversity and stability of key traits for apple breeding in notheastern Spanish germplasm

Publicated to:Frontiers In Plant Science. 16 - 2025-09-16 16(), DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1623195

Authors: Bielsa, F. J., Errea, P., Iturmendi, N., Irisarri, P., Navarro, M., Castel, L., Urrestarazu, J., Santesteban, L. G., Miranda, C., & Pina, A.

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Abstract

Malus x domestica Borkh is a key temperate fruit crop globally, but climate change and market demands highlight the need to broaden its narrow genetic base. The collection and conservation of local germplasms support breeding efforts by enabling the development of resilient phenotypes with improved traits. Under this framework, a set of 130 apple accessions (recovered from Northeastern Spain and 14 commercial cultivars were analyzed in terms of 12 phenotypic traits (firmness, SSC, malic acid, enzymatic browning (EB) susceptibility, fructose and glucose content, and phenolic content in peel and pulp). A statistical framework was developed to assess trait stability under shifting climatic conditions and detect significant correlations between climatic variables and phenotypical performance of apple trees. The results revealed a wide phenotypical variation across the studied traits, with the distribution of physicochemical traits strongly influenced in a genotype-dependent manner. A correlation matrix was obtained for studied traits revealing positive correlations between harvest date and SSC, enzymatic browning and firmness. Furthermore, uni- and multifactorial ANOVA revealed that genetic group (GG) is a key factor influencing all measured traits, especially pH, SSC, EB, and browning speed. Several interaction effects were also statistically significant, especially those involving ploidy level, which strongly influenced malic acid content and EB responses. Additionally, significant differences in fructose content were observed depending on peel coloration, and year-to-year phenotypic variation appeared to be predominantly governed by genotypic response to environmental conditions. Moreover, obtention of a mean stability index (Di) for each trait allowed the identification of ‘Pinova’,’Fuji’ and ‘Gala’ as the most stable cultivars among 11 commercial cultivars. These findings will support future research on development of functional cultivars and selection of ideal genotypes under shifting conditions.

Keywords

Conservación del germoplasmaFenotiposGermoplasmaMalusMejoramiento genéticoOxidación

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Frontiers In Plant Science due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position 33/273, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Plant Sciences.

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-10-25:

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.25.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Bielsa Gonzalez, Francisco Javier) and Last Author (Pina Sobrino, Ana).