Abstract: Four cherry tomato（Solanum lycopersicum L.） cultivars (Qianxi, Xiaohong, T7, and Fushan 88) were used as experimental materials. The contents of 2-phenylethanol and 2-phenylethyl β-D-glucoside in fruits were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS). Potential uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferase (UGT) genes were screened through phylogenetic analysis. Their expression patterns were analyzed by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to investigate the correlation between the contents of 2-phenylethanol/2-phenylethyl β-D-glucoside and related gene expression levels. The results showed significant differences in 2-phenylethanol and 2-phenylethyl β-D-glucoside contents among cultivars, with the order of Qianxi>Xiaohong>T7>Fushan 88. The highest contents of 2-phenylethanol (3 906.69 ng/g) and 2-phenylethyl β-D-glucoside (5 590.26 ng/g) were detected in Qianxi, both significantly higher than those in other cultivars.Phylogenetic analysis identified 20 SlUGT genes. Among them, SlUGT42, SlUGT54, SlUGT103, SlUGT104, and SlUGT105 showed increasing expression trends during fruit development.SlUGT103, SlUGT104, and SlUGT105 exhibited the highest expression levels in Qianxi, coinciding with its peak 2-phenylethanol and glycoside contents. The relative expression of SlUGT103 showed significant positive correlations with both 2-phenylethanol and 2-phenylethyl β-D-glucoside contents. The relative expression of SlUGT104 was significantly positively correlated with 2-phenylethanol content.SlUGT103 and SlUGT104 were identified as key glucosyltransferase genes catalyzing the glycosylation of 2-phenylethanol.

Key words: cherry tomato, 2-phenylethanol, glycoside, 2-phenylethyl β-d-glucoside, content, gene expression