Comparative Physiological and Proteomic Analysis Reveal Distinct Regulation of Peach Skin Quality Traits by Altitude

Abstract

The role of environment in fruit physiology has been established; however, knowledge regarding the effect of altitude in fruit quality traits is still lacking. Here, skin tissue quality characters were analyzed in peach fruit (cv. June Gold), harvested in 16 orchards located in low (71.5 m mean), or high (495 m mean) altitutes sites. Data indicated that soluble solids concentration and fruit firmness at commercial harvest stage were unaffected by alitute. Peach grown at high-altitude environment displayed higher levels of pigmentation and specific antioxidant-related activity in their skin at the commercial harvest stage. Skin extracts from distinct developmental stages and growing altitudes exhibited different antioxidant ability against DNA strand-scission. The effects of altitude on skin tissue were further studied using a proteomic approach. Protein expression analysis of the mature fruits depicted altered expression of 42 proteins that are mainly involved in the metabolic pathways of defense, primary metabolism, destination/storage and energy. The majority of these proteins were up-regulated at the low-altitude region. High-altitude environment increased the accumulation of several proteins, including chaperone ClpC, chaperone ClpB, pyruvate dehydrogenase E1, TCP domain class transcription factor, and lipoxygenase. We also discuss the altitude-affected protein variations, taking into account their potential role in peach ripening process. This study provides the first characterization of the peach skin proteome and helps to improve our understanding of peach's response to altitude.

Physiological analysis of the effect of altitudinal gradients on Leymus secalinus on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

“…Carotenoid (Car) contents are known to decrease at high altitudes, but the opposite case has also been observed [26]. In this study, the Car contents increased with elevation, and the magnitude of the increase in high-altitude regions was higher than that in low-altitude regions, suggesting that environmental factors at a higher altitude may promoted the biosynthesis of Car, which is similar to the patterns detected in the skin tissue of peach grown in low- and high-altitude areas [37]. Light is necessary for Car biosynthesis, and the increase in light intensity that accompanies an increase in elevation is also conducive to Car synthesis [38].…”

Systems-Based Approaches to Unravel Networks and Individual Elements Involved in Apple Superficial Scald

“…At the same time points sampled for metabolomic analysis, peel tissue (5 g) were used for protein extraction based on phenol extraction protocol at total volume of 12 ml (Karagiannis et al, 2016). Two-dimensional electrophoresis was performed according to Tanou et al (2010) using a BIO-RAD system.…”

New approaches based on comparative proteomics for the assessment of food quality

“…Comparative proteomics can be approached from both a qualitative point of view and under a quantitative perspective. The identification of protein profiles is usually done [24,25], differences in CO2 or N2 air composition in vegetables [26] and cereals [27,28], effect of altitude in fruits [29], presence of high concentrations of salt, copper or iron in soybean [30] and wheat grain [31], water stress in cereals [19] and pulses [32], and differences in the photoperiod in maize [33] can affect the crop yield. Also animal post-mortem meat changes have been studied using different approaches of comparative proteomics to detect differences in muscle proteome subjected to antemortem stress conditions and to determine potential biomarkers of stress [34,35].…”