Identification and characterization of genes differentially expressed in cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill) after exposure to chilling injury conditions

Abstract

Cherimoyas (Annona cherimola), like other subtropical/tropical fruits, are susceptible to damage from exposure to temperatures between 0 and 5 °C (chilling injury, CI), which may affect fruit quality. To increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the CI response, a forward suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA library was constructed. In this work, we obtained 75 genes that could potentially be involved in the CI response. The CI induced activation of genes that are involved in a range of metabolic pathways, such as primary metabolism, transport, and endomembrane traffic, among others. We also characterized the expression of 12 selected genes in different A. cherimola tissues by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and we confirmed the differential expression of a subset in CI fruits by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). The expression of six A. cherimola genes: annexin (AcAnex), UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AcUGP), syntaxin of plants 71 (AcSyp71), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic-acid synthase (AcACS), ubiquitin carrier-like protein (AcUCP), and enolase (AcEnol), was up-regulated after cold storage for 12 days at 0 °C. These results imply that selected genes could be related to the development of internal browning observed in cherimoyas after exposure to CI conditions. The information generated in this study provides new clues that may aid in understanding the cherimoya ripening process.