Fleshy fruits represent a valuable resource of economic and nutritional relevance for humanity. The plant cuticle is the external lipid layer covering the nonwoody aerial organs of land plants, and it is the first contact between fruits and the environment. It has been hypothesized that the cuticle plays a role in the development, ripening, quality, resistance to pathogen attack and postharvest shelf life of fleshy fruits. The cuticle’s structure and composition change in response to the fruit’s developmental stage, fruit physiology and different postharvest treatments. This review summarizes current information on the physiology and molecular mechanism of cuticle biosynthesis and composition changes during the development, ripening and postharvest stages of fleshy fruits. A discussion and analysis of studies regarding the relationship between cuticle composition, water loss reduction and maintaining fleshy fruits’ postharvest quality are presented. An overview of the molecular mechanism of cuticle biosynthesis and efforts to elucidate it in fleshy fruits is included. Enhancing our knowledge about cuticle biosynthesis mechanisms and identifying specific transcripts, proteins and lipids related to quality traits in fleshy fruits could contribute to the design of biotechnological strategies to improve the quality and postharvest shelf life of these important fruit crops.
Background: Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are natural products obtained from plants of the Brassicas family. They represent an environmentally friendly alternative for the control of phytopathogenic fungi. However, as it has been observed with synthetic fungicides, the possibility of inducing ITC-resistant strains is a major concern. It is, therefore, essential to understanding the molecular mechanisms of fungal resistance to ITCs. We analyzed a subtractive library containing 180 clones of an Alternaria alternata strain resistant to 2-propenyl ITC (2-pITC). After their sequencing, 141 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were identified using the BlastX algorithm. The sequence assembly was carried out using CAP3 software; the functional annotation and metabolic pathways identification were performed using the Blast2GO program. Results: The bioinformatics analysis revealed 124 reads with similarities to proteins involved in transcriptional control, defense and stress pathways, cell wall integrity maintenance, detoxification, organization and cytoskeleton destabilization; exocytosis, transport, DNA damage control, ribosome maintenance, and RNA processing. In addition, transcripts corresponding to enzymes as oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, and ligases, were detected. Degradation pathways for styrene, aminobenzoate, and toluene were induced, as well as the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid and several types of N-glycan. Conclusions: The fungal response showed that natural compounds could induce tolerance/resistance mechanisms in organisms in the same manner as synthetic chemical products. The response of A. alternata to the toxicity of 2-pITC is a sophisticated phenomenon including the induction of signaling cascades targeting a broad set of cellular processes. Whole-transcriptome approaches are needed to elucidate completely the fungal response to 2-pITC.
Mexico is a large producer of table grape (Vitis vinifera L.) and therefore it is important to develop protocols to store the grape varieties germplasm. The objective of the present work was to design a protocol for the cryopreservation by vitrification of zygotic embryos of V. vinifera cv. "Red Globe" and evaluate possible epigenetics changes. The plant vitrification solution 2 (PVS2) was utilized before the utilization of liquid nitrogen (LN). The effect of this protocol on embryo viability was tested by the triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride solution, as well as by the in vitro development of grape embryos into plantlet. A cDNA expression library of grape zygotic embryos was created to isolate expressed sequence tags of several DNA methyltrasferases. Gene expression of domains rearranged methyltransferase type 1 (DMR1) and DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase 1 (MET1-2) isozymes was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. The optimal conditions for vitrification were 10 min in 50% PVS2, followed by 10 min in 100% PVS2. Under these conditions, about 30% of plantlet was obtained from embryos after cryopreservation. It was recorded a reduction in the MET1-2 gene expression, which plays a role in the maintenance of DNA methylation. It is possible to cryopreserve viable grape zygotic embryos, although the treatment seems to induce alterations in the normal DNA methylation pattern of the zygotic embryo genome.
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