Low night-temperatures affect the metabolism of raffinose-family oligosaccharides in melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i>L.) leaves during fruit expansion

Hao, Jia; Li, T.L.; Xu, Tongyu; Qi, Hongyan; Qi, Mingfang

doi:10.1080/14620316.2010.11512665

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To gain more comprehensive information for low temperature effects on plants, we have recently selected melon plants which were at fruit developing stage and have found that low night temperatures significantly inhibited photosynthetic capacity [ 15 ], expression of galactinol synthase genes (CmGOS), and stachyose metabolism. Low night temperatures were also found to lead to mass accumulation of carbohydrates particularly raffinose (with the ratio of raffinose to total carbohydrates exhibiting a large increase) in melon leaves, indicating that phloem loading might be repressed [ 16 ]. Moreover, we found that low night temperatures decreased the carbohydrate content in fruits and affected the sink strength [ 15 , 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Night Temperature Affects the Phloem Ultrastructure of Lateral Branches and Raffinose Family Oligosaccharide (RFO) Accumulation in RFO-Transporting Plant Melon (Cucumismelo L.) during Fruit Expansion

Hao

Zhu

et al. 2016

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to the importance and complexity of photo assimilate transport in raffinose family oligosaccharide (RFO)-transporting plants such as melon, it is important to study the features of the transport structure (phloem) particularly of the lateral branches connecting the source leaves and the sink fruits, and its responses to environmental challenges. Currently, it is unclear to what extents the cold environmental temperature stress would alter the phloem ultrastructure and RFO accumulation in RFO-transporting plants. In this study, we firstly utilized electron microscopy to investigate the changes in the phloem ultrastructure of lateral branches and RFO accumulation in melons after being subjected to low night temperatures (12°C and 9°C). The results demonstrated that exposure to 9°C and 12°C altered the ultrastructure of the phloem, with the effect of 9°C being more obvious. The most obvious change was the appearance of plasma membrane invaginations in 99% companion cells and intermediary cells. In addition, phloem parenchyma cells contained chloroplasts with increased amounts of starch grains, sparse cytoplasm and reduced numbers of mitochondria. In the intermediary cells, the volume of cytoplasm was reduced by 50%, and the central vacuole was present. Moreover, the treatment at 9°C during the night led to RFO accumulation in the vascular bundles of the lateral branches and fruit carpopodiums. These ultrastructural changes of the transport structure (phloem) following the treatment at 9°C represented adaptive responses of melons to low temperature stresses. Future studies are required to examine whether these responses may affect phloem transport.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%