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Plants
Special Issues
Molecular Regulation of Fruit Ripening and Postharvest
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Molecular Regulation of Fruit Ripening and Postharvest

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 10042

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Fabrizio Costa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center Agriculture Food Environment (C3A), University of Trento, San Michele all’Adige, 38010 Trento, Italy
Interests: genomics; post-harvest physiology; fruits
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Nicola Busatto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Genomics and Biology of Fruit Crops, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38010, San Michele all’Adige, TN, Italy
Interests: fruit breeding; fruit ripening; fruit genetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruit ripening involves a myriad of genetically coordinated processes oriented to make the fruit more attractive for seed-dispersing organisms, and makes fruits suitable for human consumption. The changes occurring in this ontogenetic phase involve several modifications, such as alteration in color, texture, and the formation of a wide class of secondary metabolites. Fruits are in fact important suppliers of antioxidant compounds essential to prevent the onset of chronic diseases, and for this reason the daily consumption of fruits and vegetables has been promoted and recommended in the guidelines suggested by FAO and WHO.

To this end, in the last 20 years the scientific community has investigated most of the regulatory pathways related to quality features, identifying gene networks and loci potentially valuable to assist breeding programs oriented to the selection of novel plants distinguished by superior fruit quality. More recently, genome-editing-based approaches were employed to finely tune the ripening progression and reduce the general fruit decay. Although in the near future the agricultural production will need to increase by 70% to provide food to a continuously growing global population, about 1/3 of the entire production of fresh fruits and vegetables is lost due to post-harvest wastage.

The aim of this Special Issue is to emphasize the importance of improving the knowledge on the fruit ripening mechanisms leading to  of maintenance the fruit quality attained during on-tree ripening, as well as deciphering the molecular mechanisms at the base of the modifications taking place during postharvest, preventing loss of fruit while promoting food security. For these purposes, scientists involved in the multidisciplinary study of fruit ripening, from genetics to transcriptomics and gene editing, are invited to contribute to the gain of knowledge in this field by presenting their valuable results, which will represent the fundament for the release of a new generation of fruit crops.

Prof. Dr. Fabrizio Costa
Dr. Nicola Busatto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fruit ripening
  • fruit quality
  • climacteric and non-climacteric fruits
  • plant hormones
  • genetics
  • transcriptomics
  • metabolomics
  • postharvest
  • gene editing
  • food security

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5191 KiB  
Article
Hormonal Content and Gene Expression during Olive Fruit Growth and Ripening
by Maria C. Camarero, Beatriz Briegas, Jorge Corbacho, Juana Labrador and Maria C. Gomez-Jimenez
Plants 2023, 12(22), 3832; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12223832 - 12 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1293
Abstract
The cultivated olive (Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea var. europaea) is one of the most valuable fruit trees worldwide. However, the hormonal mechanisms underlying the fruit growth and ripening in olives remain largely uncharacterized. In this study, we investigated the physiological [...] Read more.
The cultivated olive (Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea var. europaea) is one of the most valuable fruit trees worldwide. However, the hormonal mechanisms underlying the fruit growth and ripening in olives remain largely uncharacterized. In this study, we investigated the physiological and hormonal changes, by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS), as well as the expression patterns of hormone-related genes, using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, during fruit growth and ripening in two olive cultivars, ‘Arbequina’ and ‘Picual’, with contrasting fruit size and shape as well as fruit ripening duration. Hormonal profiling revealed that olive fruit growth involves a lowering of auxin (IAA), cytokinin (CKs), and jasmonic acid (JA) levels as well as a rise in salicylic acid (SA) levels from the endocarp lignification to the onset of fruit ripening in both cultivars. During olive fruit ripening, both abscisic acid (ABA) and anthocyanin levels rose, while JA levels fell, and SA levels showed no significant changes in either cultivar. By contrast, differential accumulation patterns of gibberellins (GAs) were found between the two cultivars during olive fruit growth and ripening. GA1 was not detected at either stage of fruit development in ‘Arbequina’, revealing a specific association between the GA1 and ‘Picual’, the cultivar with large sized, elongated, and fast-ripening fruit. Moreover, ABA may play a central role in regulating olive fruit ripening through transcriptional regulation of key ABA metabolism genes, whereas the IAA, CK, and GA levels and/or responsiveness differ between olive cultivars during olive fruit ripening. Taken together, the results indicate that the relative absence or presence of endogenous GA1 is associated with differences in fruit morphology and size as well as in the ripening duration in olives. Such detailed knowledge may be of help to design new strategies for effective manipulation of olive fruit size as well as ripening duration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Regulation of Fruit Ripening and Postharvest)
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16 pages, 1564 KiB  
Article
Molecular Responses of Red Ripe Tomato Fruit to Copper Deficiency Stress
by Paco Romero and María Teresa Lafuente
Plants 2023, 12(10), 2062; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12102062 - 22 May 2023
Viewed by 1306
Abstract
Fruit nutritional value, plant growth, and yield can be compromised by deficient copper (Cu) bioavailability, which often appears in arable lands. This condition causes low Cu content and modifications in the ripening-associated processes in tomato fruit. This research studies the transcriptomic changes that [...] Read more.
Fruit nutritional value, plant growth, and yield can be compromised by deficient copper (Cu) bioavailability, which often appears in arable lands. This condition causes low Cu content and modifications in the ripening-associated processes in tomato fruit. This research studies the transcriptomic changes that occur in red ripe tomato fruit grown under suboptimal Cu conditions to shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying this stress. Comparative RNA-sequencing and functional analyses revealed that Cu deficiency during cultivation activates signals for metal ion transport, cellular redox homeostasis, pyridoxal phosphate binding, and amino acid metabolism while repressing the response to phosphate starvation in harvested fruit. Transcriptomic analyses highlighted a number of novel Cu stress-responsive genes of unknown function and indicated that Cu homeostasis regulation in tomato fruit may involve additional components than those described in model plants. It also studied the regulation of high-affinity Cu transporters and a number of well-known Cu stress-responsive genes during tomato fruit ripening depending on Cu availability, which allowed potential candidates to be targeted for biotechnological improvements in reproductive tissues. We provide the first study characterizing the molecular responses of fruit to Cu deficiency stress for any fruit crop. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Regulation of Fruit Ripening and Postharvest)
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13 pages, 1572 KiB  
Article
Pre- and Post-Harvest Conditions Affect Polyphenol Content in Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa)
by Ryohei Koyama, Misaki Ishibashi, Itsuko Fukuda, Akitoshi Okino, Ro Osawa and Yuichi Uno
Plants 2022, 11(17), 2220; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11172220 - 27 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2280
Abstract
The strawberry fruit contains abundant polyphenols, such as anthocyanins, flavan-3-ol, and ellagitannin. Polyphenol enrichment improves the quality of strawberries and leads to a better understanding of the polyphenol induction process. We measured the total polyphenol content of strawberry fruits under different growth conditions, [...] Read more.
The strawberry fruit contains abundant polyphenols, such as anthocyanins, flavan-3-ol, and ellagitannin. Polyphenol enrichment improves the quality of strawberries and leads to a better understanding of the polyphenol induction process. We measured the total polyphenol content of strawberry fruits under different growth conditions, developmental stages, and treatment conditions during pre-harvest and post-harvest periods. High fruit polyphenol content was observed in cold treatment, which was selected for further analysis and optimization. A transcriptome analysis of cold-treated fruits suggested that the candidate components of polyphenols may exist in the phenylpropanoid pathway. Coverage with a porous film bag excluded the effects of drought stress and produced polyphenol-rich strawberry fruits without affecting quality or quantity. The degree of stress was assessed using known stress indicators. A rapid accumulation of abscisic acid was followed by an increase in superoxide dismutase and DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) activity, suggesting that the strawberry fruits responded to cold stress immediately, reaching the climax at around 6 days, a trend consistent with that of polyphenol content. These findings enhance our understanding of the mechanism of post-harvest polyphenol accumulation and the value of strawberries as a functional food. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Regulation of Fruit Ripening and Postharvest)
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14 pages, 4884 KiB  
Article
Integrated Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis of the Mechanism of Foliar Application of Hormone-Type Growth Regulator in the Improvement of Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) Coloration in Saline-Alkaline Soil
by Doudou Chang, Huaijin Liu, Mengjie An, Dashuang Hong, Hua Fan, Kaiyong Wang and Zhiqiang Li
Plants 2022, 11(16), 2115; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11162115 - 15 Aug 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1743
Abstract
(1) Background: To solve the problems of incomplete coloration and quality decline caused by unreasonable use of regulators in grapes, this study clarified the differences in the effects of a hormone-type growth regulator (AUT) and two commercial regulators on grape coloration and quality [...] Read more.
(1) Background: To solve the problems of incomplete coloration and quality decline caused by unreasonable use of regulators in grapes, this study clarified the differences in the effects of a hormone-type growth regulator (AUT) and two commercial regulators on grape coloration and quality through field experiments. (2) Methods: The color indexes (brightness (L*), red/green color difference (a*), yellow/blue color difference (b*), and color index for red grapes (CIRG)) of grape fruit were measured using a CR-400 handheld color difference meter. The titratable acid content, total phenol content, and total sugar content were measured using anthrone colorimetry, folinol colorimetry, and NaOH titration, respectively, and the chalcone isomerase activity, phenylalanine ammoniase activity, dihydroflavol reductase activity, and anthocyanin content were measured using a UV spectrophotometer. (3) Results: The a*, total sugar and total phenol contents, and chalcone isomerase (CHI) and phenylalanine ammoniase (PAL) activities of grape fruit in the AUT treatment significantly increased, while the titratable acid content significantly decreased, compared to those in the CK treatment. The expressions of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) trpB and argJ in AUT treatment were significantly up-regulated. The expressions of the differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) phenylalanine and 4-oxoproline were significantly up-regulated, while those of 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde and N-acetyl glutamate were significantly down-regulated. The CIRG significantly increased by 36.4% compared to that in the CK, indicating improved fruit coloration. (4) Conclusion: The AUT could shorten the color conversion period of grape fruit and improve the coloration, taste, and tolerance to saline and alkaline stresses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Regulation of Fruit Ripening and Postharvest)
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19 pages, 3744 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome Analysis of Soursop (Annona muricata L.) Fruit under Postharvest Storage Identifies Genes Families Involved in Ripening
by Yolotzin Apatzingan Palomino-Hermosillo, Guillermo Berumen-Varela, Verónica Alhelí Ochoa-Jiménez, Rosendo Balois-Morales, José Orlando Jiménez-Zurita, Pedro Ulises Bautista-Rosales, Mónica Elizabeth Martínez-González, Graciela Guadalupe López-Guzmán, Moisés Alberto Cortés-Cruz, Luis Felipe Guzmán, Fernanda Cornejo-Granados, Luigui Gallardo-Becerra, Adrian Ochoa-Leyva and Iran Alia-Tejacal
Plants 2022, 11(14), 1798; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11141798 - 07 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2326
Abstract
Soursop (Annona muricata L.) is climacteric fruit with a short ripening period and postharvest shelf life, leading to a rapid softening. In this study, transcriptome analysis of soursop fruits was performed to identify key gene families involved in ripening under postharvest storage [...] Read more.
Soursop (Annona muricata L.) is climacteric fruit with a short ripening period and postharvest shelf life, leading to a rapid softening. In this study, transcriptome analysis of soursop fruits was performed to identify key gene families involved in ripening under postharvest storage conditions (Day 0, Day 3 stored at 28 ± 2 °C, Day 6 at 28 ± 2 °C, Day 3 at 15 ± 2 °C, Day 6 at 15 ± 2 °C, Day 9 at 15 ± 2 °C). The transcriptome analysis showed 224,074 transcripts assembled clustering into 95, 832 unigenes, of which 21, 494 had ORF. RNA-seq analysis showed the highest number of differentially expressed genes on Day 9 at 15 ± 2 °C with 9291 genes (4772 up-regulated and 4519 down-regulated), recording the highest logarithmic fold change in pectin-related genes. Enrichment analysis presented significantly represented GO terms and KEGG pathways associated with molecular function, metabolic process, catalytic activity, biological process terms, as well as biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, plant hormone signal, starch, and sucrose metabolism, plant–pathogen interaction, plant–hormone signal transduction, and MAPK-signaling pathways, among others. Network analysis revealed that pectinesterase genes directly regulate the loss of firmness in fruits stored at 15 ± 2 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Regulation of Fruit Ripening and Postharvest)
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