Plant Journal
Plant Journal
5 years ago

Apple fruit superficial scald resistance mediated by ethylene inhibition is associated with diverse metabolic processes

Alberto Ferrarini, Elisa Zago, Barbara Iadarola, Guglielmo Costa, Francesco Spinelli, Giulia Chitarrini, Nicola Busatto, Fabrizio Costa, Mauro Commisso, Massimo Delledonne, Flavia Guzzo, Riccardo Velasco, Angelo Zanella, Martino Bianconi, Benedetto Ruperti, Urska Vrhovsek, Brian Farneti
Fruits stored at low temperature can exhibit different types of chilling injury. In apple, one of the most serious physiological disorders is superficial scald, which is characterized by discoloration and brown necrotic patches on the fruit exocarp. Although this phenomenon is widely ascribed to the oxidation of α-farnesene, its physiology is not yet fully understood. To elucidate the mechanism of superficial scald development and possible means of prevention, we performed an integrated metabolite screen, including an analysis of volatiles, phenols and lipids, together with a large-scale transcriptome study. We also determined that prevention of superficial scald, through the use of an ethylene action inhibitor, is associated with the triggering of cold acclimation-related processes. Specifically, the inhibition of ethylene perception stimulated the production of antioxidant compounds to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), the synthesis of fatty acids to stabilize plastid and vacuole membranes against cold temperature, and the accumulation of the sorbitol, which can act as a cryoprotectant. The pattern of sorbitol accumulation was consistent with the expression profile of a sorbitol 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, MdS6PDH, the overexpression of which in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants confirmed its involvement in the cold acclimation and freezing tolerance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1111/tpj.13774

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