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Melatonin promotes ripening and improves quality of tomato fruit during postharvest life.

ABSTRACT: In this study, the effect of melatonin on the postharvest ripening and quality improvement of tomato fruit was carried out. The tomatoes were immersed in exogenous melatonin for 2h, and then the related physiological indicators and the expression of genes during post-harvest life were evaluated. Compared with control check (CK), the 50 µM melatonin treatment significantly increased lycopene levels by 5.8-fold. Meanwhile, the key genes involved in fruit colour development, including phytoene synthase1 (PSY1) and carotenoid isomerase (CRTISO), showed a 2-fold increase in expression levels. The rate of water loss from tomato fruit also increased 8.3%, and the expression of aquaporin genes, such as SlPIP12Q, SlPIPQ, SlPIP21Q, and SlPIP22, was up-regulated 2- to 3-fold under 50 µM melatonin treatment. In addition, 50 µM melatonin treatment enhanced fruit softening, increased water-soluble pectin by 22.5%, and decreased protopectin by 19.5%. The expression of the cell wall modifying proteins polygalacturonase (PG), pectin esterase1 (PE1), ?-galactosidase (TBG4), and expansin1 (Exp1) was up-regulated under 50 µM melatonin treatment. Melatonin increased ethylene production by 27.1%, accelerated the climacteric phase, and influenced the ethylene signalling pathway. Alteration of ethylene production correlated with altered 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase (ACS4) expression. The expression of ethylene signal transduction-related genes such as NR, SlETR4, SlEIL1, SlEIL3, and SlERF2, was enhanced by 50 µM melatonin. The effect of melatonin on ethylene biosynthesis, ethylene perception, and ethylene signalling may contribute to fruit ripening and quality improvement in tomato. This research may promote the application of melatonin on postharvest ripening and quality improvement of tomato fruit as well as other horticultural productions in the future.

SUBMITTER: Sun Q

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4321535 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Melatonin promotes ripening and improves quality of tomato fruit during postharvest life.

Sun Qianqian Q Zhang Na N Wang Jinfang J Zhang Haijun H Li Dianbo D Shi Jin J Li Ren R Weeda Sarah S Zhao Bing B Ren Shuxin S Guo Yang-Dong YD

Journal of experimental botany 20140821 3

In this study, the effect of melatonin on the postharvest ripening and quality improvement of tomato fruit was carried out. The tomatoes were immersed in exogenous melatonin for 2h, and then the related physiological indicators and the expression of genes during post-harvest life were evaluated. Compared with control check (CK), the 50 µM melatonin treatment significantly increased lycopene levels by 5.8-fold. Meanwhile, the key genes involved in fruit colour development, including phytoene synt ...[more]

PMID: 25147270

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Project description:As a conserved kinase complex, sucrose non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) is a major regulator of plant growth and development. In our previous study, overexpression of MhSnRK1 in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) modified fruit maturation: the transgenic fruit ripened earlier than the wild type (WT). However, the mechanism by which fruit maturation is regulated by SnRK1 is not clear; therefore, the test materials used were the transgenic tomato lines (OE-1, OE-3, and OE-4) overexpressing the coding gene of peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] SNF1-related kinase ? subunit (PpSnRK1?). The activity of SnRK1 kinase in transgenic tomato lines OE-1, OE-3, and OE-4 was higher than that in the WT at different periods of fruit development; in the pink coloring period the SnRK1 kinase activity increased the most, with 23.5, 28.8, and 21.4% increases, respectively. The content of starch and soluble sugars in red ripe transgenic fruit significantly increased, while the soluble protein and titratable acid content decreased significantly. We also found that the tomatoes overexpressing PpSnRK1? matured approximately 10 days earlier than the WT. Moreover, the yeast-two-hybrid assay showed that PpSnRK1? interacted with the MADS-box transcription factor (TF) SIRIN, which acts as an essential regulator of tomato fruit ripening. The BiFC technology further validated the location of the PpSnRK1? interaction sites within the nucleus. The quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that RIN expression was up-regulated by PpSnRK1? overexpression; the expression of RIN-targeted TF genes NOR and FUL1 increased during different stages of fruit development. The expression of key genes, ACS2, ACS4, and E8, in ethylene synthesis also changed accordingly, and the ethylene emitted by the red ripe fruit increased by 36.1-43.9% compared with the WT. These results suggest that PpSnRK1? interacts with SIRIN, increasing the expression of RIN, thereby regulating the expression of downstream ripening-related genes, finally promoting fruit ripening.

Project description:Storage at low temperatures is a common practice to prolong postharvest life of fruit and vegetables with a minimal negative impact on human/environmental health. Storage at low temperatures, however, can be restricted due to produce susceptibility to non-freezing chilling temperatures, when injuries such as physiological disorders and decays may result in unmarketable produce. We have investigated tomato fruit response to postharvest chilling stress in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population developed from a cross between a chilling-sensitive cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) breeding line and a chilling-tolerant inbred accession of the tomato wild species S. pimpinellifolium L. Screening of the fruit of 148 RILs under cold storage (1.5°C) indicated presence of significant variations in chilling tolerance, manifested by varying degrees of fruit injury. Two extremely contrasting groups of RILs were identified, chilling-tolerant and chilling-sensitive RILs. The RILs in the two groups were further investigated under chilling stress conditions, and several physiological parameters, including weight loss, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters Fv/Fm, and Performance Index (PI), were determined to be efficient markers for identifying response to chilling stress in postharvest fruit. The Fv/Fm values reflected the physiological damages endured by the fruit after cold storage, and PI was a sensitive marker for early changes in photosystem II function. These two parameters were early indicators of chilling response before occurrence of visible chilling injuries. Antioxidant activities and ascorbic acid content were significantly higher in the chilling-tolerant than the chilling-sensitive lines. Further, the expression of C-repeat/DREB binding factors (CBFs) genes swiftly changed within 1-hr of fruit exposure to the chilling temperature, and the SlCBF1 transcript level was generally higher in the chilling-tolerant than chilling-sensitive lines after 2-hr exposure to the low temperature. This research demonstrates the presence of potential genetic variation in fruit chilling tolerance in the tomato RIL population. Further investigation of the RIL population is underway to better understand the genetic, physiological, and biochemical mechanisms involved in postharvest fruit chilling tolerance in tomato.

Dataset Information

Melatonin promotes ripening and improves quality of tomato fruit during postharvest life.

Publications

Melatonin promotes ripening and improves quality of tomato fruit during postharvest life.

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