## 2 Results
### Functional Annotation and Categorization of DEGs
latifolia_. The number of these gene families in different kiwifruit genotypes, including Hongyang (_A. chinensis_) v2, Hongyang (_A. chinensis_) v3, Red 5 (_A. chinensis_), White (_A. eriantha_), and _A. latifolia_, were compared, and the results are listed in Table 3. At least two gene family members in _A. latifolia_ were identified, except for GalDH and GalLDH. Gene expansions were detected not only in PMM, GMP, and GGP within the L-galactose pathway, which forms the major route for ascorbic acid biosynthesis, but also in genes involved in the recycling of ascorbic acid, including AO, APX, and MDHAR (Table 3). Changes in the relative expression of gene family members involved in AsA biosynthesis and recycling over time were investigated in this study and their expression profiles are summarized in the heat maps (Figures 4 and 5), except for PMM (Al31169), GME (Al24721), GGP (Al33117), APX (Al27791), APX (Al28761), APX (Al30425), MDHAR (Al29807), and MDHAR (Al22533). In the AsA biosynthesis pathway, GMP (Al20899, Al23713, and Al22538), GME (Al21163), and GGP (Al15644, Al15571, and Al15715) were highly expressed during fruit development and ripening of _A. latifolia_ (Figure 4). In the AsA recycling pathway, APX (Al24536, Al27026, Al26316, Al27343, and Al24110), MDHAR (Al21766 and Al21314), and DHAR (Al28325 and Al27846) showed high transcriptional levels (Figure 5). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c} \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Gene Name**} & \multicolumn{5}{c}{**Number of Genes**} \\ \cline{2-6}  & **Hong Yang** & **Hong Yang** & **Red 5** & **White** & \\  & **(_A. chinensis_) v2** & **(_A. chinensis_) v3** & **(_A. chinensis_)** & **(_A. eriantha_)** & **_A. latifolia_** \\ \hline PGI & 5 & 4 & 4 & 6 & 6 \\ PMI & 2 & 5 & 4 & 5 & 2 \\ PMM & 10 & 8 & 7 & 8 & 14 \\ GMP & 3 & 1 & 3 & 3 & 8 \\ GME & 2 & 3 & 2 & 4 & 3 \\ GGP & 3 & 4 & 3 & 5 & 9 \\ GPP & 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 3 \\ GalDH & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 \\ GalLDH & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 \\ MOX & 7 & 8 & 6 & 10 & 4 \\ GalUR & 5 & 5 & 3 & 6 & 2 \\ AO & 3 & 2 & 7 & 4 & 11 \\ APX & 12 & 4 & 11 & 17 & 17 \\ DHAR & 5 & 4 & 4 & 5 & 5 \\ MDHAR & 7 & 6 & 7 & 8 & 10 \\ \hline \end{tabular} Note: The number of different genes in Hong Yang (v2/v3), Red 5, and White were determined by the search function of Kiwifruit Genome Database ([[http://kiwifruitgenome.org/](http://kiwifruitgenome.org/)]([http://kiwifruitgenome.org/](http://kiwifruitgenome.org/)) accessed on 6 March 2022).  
\end{table} 
Table 3: Comparison of the number of gene families involved in the biosynthesis and recycling pathway of ascorbic acid in different kiwifruit genotypes. Figure 4: Heat map depicting the expression profiles of AsA biosynthesis-related genes during fruit development and ripening of _A. latifolia_. The mean values from transcriptome data of the triplicates were used for heat map construction. The expression level was represented by a color scale located at the top right corner. Figure 5: Heat map depicting the expression profiles of AsA recycling-related genes during fruit development and ripening of _A. latifolia_. The mean values from transcriptome data of the triplicates were used for heat map construction. The expression level was represented by a color scale located at the top right corner. The statistical correlation or association between AsA accumulation and relative gene expression was measured and is summarized in Table S4.