Dataset Information

Transcriptomic and Metabolic Analyses Reveal the Mechanism of Ethylene Production in Stony Hard Peach Fruit during Cold Storage.

ABSTRACT: Stony hard (SH) peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) fruit does not release ethylene and has very firm and crisp flesh at ripening, both on- and off-tree. Long-term cold storage can induce ethylene production and a serious risk of chilling injury in SH peach fruit; however, the regulatory mechanism underlying ethylene production in stony hard peach is relatively unclear. In this study, we analyzed the phytohormone levels, fruit firmness, transcriptome, and lipidome changes in SH peach 'Zhongtao 9' (CP9) during cold storage (4 °C). The expression level of the ethylene biosynthesis gene PpACS1 and the content of ethylene in SH peach fruit were found to be upregulated during cold storage. A peak in ABA release was observed before the release of ethylene and the genes involved in ABA biosynthesis and degradation, such as zeaxanthin epoxidase (ZEP) and 8'-hydroxylase (CYP707A) genes, were specifically induced in response to low temperatures. Fruit firmness decreased fairly slowly during the first 20 d of refrigeration, followed by a sharp decline. Furthermore, the expression level of genes encoding cell wall metabolic enzymes, such as polygalacturonase, pectin methylesterase, expansin, galactosidase, and β-galactosidase, were upregulated only upon refrigeration, as correlated with the decrease in fruit firmness. Lipids belonging to 23 sub-classes underwent differential rearrangement during cold storage, especially ceramide (Cer), monoglycosylceramide (CerG1), phosphatidic acid (PA), and diacyglyceride (DG), which may eventually lead to ethylene production. Exogenous PC treatment provoked a higher rate of ethylene production. We suspected that the abnormal metabolism of ABA and cell membrane lipids promotes the production of ethylene under low temperature conditions, causing the fruit to soften. In addition, ERF transcription factors also play an important role in regulating lipid, hormone, and cell wall metabolism during long-term cold storage. Overall, the results of this study give us a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanism of ethylene biosynthesis during the postharvest storage of SH peach fruit under low-temperature conditions.

SUBMITTER: Wang Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8583708 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Refrigerated storage is widely applied in order to maintain peach quality but it can also induce chilling injuries (CIs) such as flesh browning and bleeding, and mealiness. Peach fruit from three cultivars ('Red Haven', RH, 'Regina di Londa', RL, and 'Flaminia', FL) were stored for 4 weeks under low temperatures (0.5 and 5.5°C). GC-MS was employed to study changes in both metabolome and volatilome induced by cold storage in the mesocarp. CIs were assessed both at the end of each week of storage and after subsequent shelf-life (SL) at 20°C. Flesh browning and mealiness appeared to be more related to 5.5°C storage, while flesh bleeding revealed high incidence following 0.5°C storage. Compared to RL and FL, RH showed a marked lower incidence of CIs. Multivariate statistical analyses indicate that RH peaches indeed differ from RL and FL in particular when considering data from samples collected at the end of the cold storage. Common and divergent responses have been identified in terms of metabolic responses to the applied low temperatures. In all three cultivars raffinose, glucose-6P, fucose, xylose, sorbitol, GABA, epicatechin, catechin, and putrescine markedly increased during cold storage, while citramalic, glucuronic, mucic and shikimic acids decreased. Among volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes and alcohols generally accumulated more under low temperature conditions while esters and lactones evolved during subsequent SL. The main cultivar differences developed after cold storage during SL although some common responses (e.g., an increased production of ethyl acetate) were observed. The lower levels of flesh browning and bleeding displayed by RH peaches were related to compounds with antioxidant activity, or acting as osmotic protectants and membrane stabilizer. Indeed, RH showed higher levels of amino acids and urea, together with a marked increase in putrescine, sorbitol, maltitol, myoinositol and sucrose detected during storage and SL.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Ubiquitin ligases (E3) are the enzymes in the ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway responsible for targeting proteins to the degradation pathway and play major roles in multiple biological activities. However, the E3 family and their functions are yet to be identified in the fruit of peach. RESULTS:In this study, genome-wide identification, classification and characterization of the E3 ligase genes within the genome of peach (Prunus persica) was carried out. In total, 765 E3 (PpE3) ligase genes were identified in the peach genome. The PpE3 ligase genes were divided into eight subfamilies according to the presence of known functional domains. The RBX subfamily was not detected in peach. The PpE3 ligase genes were not randomly distributed among the 8 chromosomes, with a greater concentration on the longer chromosomes. The primary mode of gene duplication of the PpE3 ligase genes was dispersed gene duplication (DSD). Four subgroups of the BTB subfamily never characterized before were newly identified in peach, namely BTBAND, BTBBL, BTBP and BTBAN. The expression patterns of the identified E3 ligase genes in two peach varieties that display different types of fruit softening (melting flesh, MF, and stony hard, SH) were analyzed at 4 different stages of ripening using Illumina technology. Among the 765 PpE3 ligase genes, 515 (67.3%) were expressed (FPKM > 1) in the fruit of either MF or SH during fruit ripening. In same-stage comparisons, 231 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the two peach cultivars. The number of DEGs in each subfamily varied. Most DEGs were members of the BTB, F-box, U-box and RING subfamilies. PpE3 ligase genes predicted to be involved in ethylene, auxin, or ABA synthesis or signaling and DNA methylation were differentially regulated. Eight PpE3 ligase genes with possible roles in peach flesh texture and fruit ripening were discussed. CONCLUSIONS:The results of this study provide useful information for further understanding the functional roles of the ubiquitin ligase genes in peach. The findings also provide the first clues that E3 ligase genes may function in the regulation of peach ripening.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Texture is one of the most important fruit quality attributes. In peach, stony hard (SH) is a recessive monogenic trait (hd/hd) that confers exceptionally prolonged firm flesh to fully ripe fruit. Previous studies have shown that the SH mutation affects the fruit ability to synthesize appropriate amounts of indol-3-acetic acid (IAA), which orchestrates the ripening processes through the activation of system 2 ethylene pathway. Allelic variation in a TC microsatellite located within the first intron of PpYUC11-like (a YUCCA-like auxin-biosynthesis gene) has been recently proposed as the causal mutation of the SH phenotype. RESULTS:The simple genetic determinism of the SH trait has been clarified through genome-wide association and LD analyses in a diverse set of accessions, restricting the hd locus to an interval of about 1.8 Mbp in chromosome 6. The comparison of fruit transcriptome data from non-SH (melting flesh) and SH accessions provided an expression patterns overview of the annotated transcripts within the hd locus, confirming the absence of PpYUC11-like expression in SH fruits. To explore further possible associations between genomic variants at the hd locus and the SH phenotype, re-sequencing data of the SH accession 'D41-62' were compared with several SH and non-SH accessions with different genetic backgrounds. A further step of validation was provided through the evaluation of variant-trait association in two bi-parental F2 populations issued from the SH accession 'D41-62' and a panel of advanced breeding selections, showing perfect co-segregation of the PpYUC11-like intron TC20 allele and the SH phenotype. CONCLUSIONS:In this study, we provide a multi-level validation of the genetic control of the SH trait through the integration of genome-wide association mapping, transcriptome analysis and whole-genome resequencing data for SH and non-SH accessions, and marker-trait association in a panel of advanced breeding selections and segregating progenies. Collectively, our data confirm with high confidence the role of allelic variation at PpYUC11-like locus as the genetic determinant of the SH trait, opening interesting perspectives at both biological and applied research level.

Dataset Information

Transcriptomic and Metabolic Analyses Reveal the Mechanism of Ethylene Production in Stony Hard Peach Fruit during Cold Storage.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets