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Comparative Study
. 2019 Sep 5;9(9):451.
doi: 10.3390/biom9090451.

Comparative Physiological Analysis of Methyl Jasmonate in the Delay of Postharvest Physiological Deterioration and Cell Oxidative Damage in Cassava

Guoyin Liu  1   2 , Bing Li  3 , Xiuqiong Li  4 , Yunxie Wei  5 , Debing Liu  6 , Haitao Shi  7
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparative Physiological Analysis of Methyl Jasmonate in the Delay of Postharvest Physiological Deterioration and Cell Oxidative Damage in Cassava

Guoyin Liu et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

The short postharvest life of cassava is mainly due to its rapid postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) and cell oxidative damage, however, how to effectively control this remains elusive. In this study, South China 5 cassava slices were sprayed with water and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) to study the effects of MeJA on reactive oxygen species, antioxidant enzymes, quality, endogenous hormone levels, and melatonin biosynthesis genes. We found that exogenous MeJA could delay the deterioration rate for at least 36 h and alleviate cell oxidative damage through activation of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase. Moreover, MeJA increased the concentrations of melatonin and gibberellin during PPD, which had a significant effect on regulating PPD. Notably, exogenous MeJA had a significant effect on maintaining cassava quality, as evidenced by increased ascorbic acid content and carotenoid content. Taken together, MeJA treatment is an effective and promising way to maintain a long postharvest life, alleviate cell oxidative damage, and regulate storage quality in cassava.

Keywords: cassava; cell oxidative damage; methyl jasmonate; postharvest physiological deterioration; reactive oxygen species.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) in cassava storage root slices of South China 5 (SC5) variety. Visual detection (A) and deterioration rate (B) of storage root slices during PPD. Deterioration rate was determined by the percentages of gray values at different time points. Data are means ± SD calculated from at least three biological replicate samples. Asterisk symbols (*) indicate significant differences according to Duncan’s multiple range test at p < 0.05 at the same time points.
Figure 2
Figure 2
MeJA alleviates cell oxidative damage through modulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cassava tuberous roots during PPD. The concentrations of H2O2 content (A) and O2− content (B) of cassava tuberous roots. Data are means ± SD calculated from three biological replicate samples. Asterisk symbols (*) indicate significant differences according to Duncan’s multiple range test at p < 0.05 at the same time points.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The modulation of MeJA treatment on antioxidant enzyme activities in cassava tuberous roots during PPD. Related activities of catalase (CAT) (A), peroxidase (POD) (B), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (C) in cassava tuberous roots. Data are means ± SD calculated from at least four biological replicate samples. Asterisk symbols (*) indicate significant differences according to Duncan’s multiple range test at p < 0.05 at the same time.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The modulation of MeJA treatment on the quality of cassava tuberous roots during PPD. The concentrations of starch content (A), soluble sugar content (B), ascorbic acid content (C), and carotenoid content (D) in cassava tuberous roots during PPD progression. Data are means ± SD calculated from three biological replicate samples. Asterisk symbols (*) indicate significant differences according to Duncan’s multiple range test at p < 0.05 at the same time.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The effects of MeJA on the endogenous gibberellin (GA) levels in stored cassava slices. (A) The endogenous levels of GA in cassava storage root slices without and with MeJA pre-treatment. (B) Visual detection of storage root slices affected by GA pre-treatment. Data are means ± SD calculated from three biological replicate samples. Asterisk symbols (*) indicate significant differences according to Duncan’s multiple range test at p < 0.05 at the same time.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The effects of the MeJA on the expression levels of cassava melatonin biosynthesis genes and underlying endogenous melatonin. Expression levels of MeTDC1 (A), MeTDC2 (B), MeT5H (C), MeSNAT (D), MeASMT1 (E), MeASMT2 (F), and MeASMT3 (G) during PPD progression. The endogenous melatonin level in cassava storage root slices (H). Data are means ± SD calculated from three biological replicate samples. Asterisk symbols (*) indicate significant differences according to Duncan’s multiple range test at p < 0.05 at the same time.
Figure 7
Figure 7
A possible model of MeJA-mediated cassava PPD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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