Scientia Agricultura Sinica ›› 2015, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (13): 2591-2599.doi: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2015.13.011

• HORTICULTURE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Relationship Between Fruit Softening and the Metabolism of Sugar and Starch and Their Related-Gene Expression in Post-Harvest ‘Jingbaili’ Fruits

 QI Xiu-dong1, WEI Jian-mei2, ZHAO Mei-wei2, PENG Hong-li2, ZHANG Hai-e3   

  1. 1Hebei Normal University of Science&Technology, Qinhuangdao 066004, Hebei
    2Department of Ecology, Environmental Management College of China, Qinhuangdao 066004, Hebei
    3Changli Fruit Institute, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Science, Changli 066600, Hebei
  • Received:2015-01-29 Online:2015-07-01 Published:2015-07-01

Abstract: 【Objective】The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between sugar and starch metabolism and fruit softening so as to provide a basis for developing better storage technology in ‘Jingbaili’ fruits. 【Method】‘Jingbaili’ pear fruits, treated at low temperature and with 1-MCP, were taken as the sample materials to determine the firmness, respiration rate, sugar and starch contents and the activities of related enzymes, and the key enzymes gene expression (AM, SPS, SS, and AI) were analyzed by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR during fruit ripening and softening. 【Result】During storage of ‘Jingbaili’ fruits, the starch contents decreased rapidly, showing a positive correlation significantly with firmness, and this trend was dramatically inhibited at low temperature with 1-MCP treatment. Also, the activity of amylase (AM) increased rapidly, which was significantly related with the changes of firmness and starch contents, and AM gene expression also accumulated rapidly with fruit softening. These processes showed a strongest effect at low temperature with 1-MCP treatment. During storage, only the glucose contents showed a significant decreasing trend, the contents of fructose and sucrose increased slightly, but they were inhibited at low temperature with 1-MCP treatment. Among sucrose-metabolized enzymes, only acid invertase (AI) activity was significantly correlated with firmness, but its activity and gene expression increased mainly at late stage of storage, lagging behind AM. Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) and sucrose synthase (SS) activities were not correlated significantly with firmness, but they showed higher activity and gene expression, and had a close relationship with the contents of sucrose and fructose, significantly regulated at low temperature with 1-MCP treatment. 【Conclusion】There was a strongest relationship between starch degradation and ‘Jingbaili’ fruit softening, AM was an important enzyme involving at early softening stage. Sucrose metabolism involved in fruit ripening and softening, but AI mainly affected the softening process at late stage and both SPS and SS were perhaps involved in the physiological processes of softening by means of regulating the composition and contents of the soluble sugars during fruit softening.

Key words:  ‘Jingbaili&rsquo, pear, fruit softening, sugar, starch, metabolism, gene expression

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