Transcriptome analysis provides insights into the regulation of metabolic processes during postharvest cold storage of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) fruit

Abstract

Loquat ( Eriobotrya japonica ) fruit accumulates lignin during postharvest storage under chilling conditions (0 °C), while low-temperature conditioning (LTC; 5 °C for 6 days followed by transfer to 0 °C) or heat treatment (HT; 40 °C for 4 h followed by transfer to 0 °C) can alleviate lignification. Here we compared transcriptome profiles of loquat fruit samples under LTC or HT to those stored at 0 °C at five time points from day 1 to day 8 after treatment. High-throughput transcriptome sequences were de novo assembled into 53,319 unique transcripts with an N50 length of 1306 bp. A total of 2235 differentially expressed genes were identified in LTC, and 1020 were identified in HT compared to 0 °C. Key genes in the lignin biosynthetic pathway, including EjPAL2 , EjCAD1 , EjCAD3 , 4CL , COMT , and HCT , were responsive to LTC or HT treatment, but they showed different expression patterns during the treatments, indicating that different structural genes could regulate lignification at different treatment stages. Coexpression network analysis showed that these candidate biosynthetic genes were associated with a number of transcription factors, including those belonging to the AP2, MYB, and NAC families. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes indicated that biological processes such as stress responses, cell wall and lignin metabolism, hormone metabolism, and metal ion transport were significantly affected under LTC or HT treatment when compared to 0 °C. Our analyses provide insights into transcriptome responses to postharvest treatments in loquat fruit.

The Interaction Between CitMYB52 and CitbHLH2 Negatively Regulates Citrate Accumulation by Activating CitALMT in Citrus Fruit

“…Considering the hierarchical clustering result of all samples and the physiological data, the data were divided into two subclasses on the dimension of samples. The mean value and the ratio of the two subclasses were calculated for each candidate and used to do the entropy weight method analysis ( Liu et al, 2019 ), and a relative ranking of all the 260 DEGs was obtained. Transcription factors whose expression patterns were positively correlated to the CitALMT ’s were identified by the calculation of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC > 0.6).…”

The Jasmonic Acid Signaling Pathway is Associated with Terpinen-4-ol-Induced Disease Resistance against Botrytis cinerea in Strawberry Fruit

“…Strawberry ( Fragaria × ananassa ) is widely popular because of its excellent taste, aroma, and sweetness, and also because it is a rich source of vitamin C and antioxidants (anthocyanins and polyphenols). , Botrytis cinerea (also known as gray mold) is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plants and soft fruit, and it is one of the most economically devastating pathogens in postharvest strawberries . In recent years, plant essential oils and their constituents have attracted considerable interest because of their broad-spectrum antimicrobial and biodegradable properties .…”

ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR39–MYB8 complex regulates low-temperature-induced lignification of loquat fruit

“…The AP2/ERF superfamily plays a pivotal role in various biotic and abiotic stresses, including pathogen infection, wounding, salt, drought, hypoxia, and temperature stress, and responses to several stress-related hormones, such as ethylene, jasmonic acid, and abscisic acid ( Mizoi et al ., 2012 ; Licausi et al , 2013 ). For example, ERF-IX subgroup members have been extensively characterized in plant pathogen responses ( Lorenzo et al ., 2002 ; Moffat et al , 2012 ), and ERF-VII group genes are involved in the hypoxia and submergence response ( Licausi et al , 2010 ). At low temperatures, members of the DREB1/CBF subfamily (subfamily III), AtDREB1B / CBF1 , AtDREB1C / CBF2 , and AtDREB1A / CBF3 , directly bind to DRE elements in the promoter region of cold-responsive related (COR) genes and modulate their expression to enhance chilling/freezing tolerance ( Stockinger et al , 1997 ; Gilmour et al , 1998 ; Liu et al , 1998 ; Nakashima et al , 2009 ).…”