Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 12:13:1082041.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1082041. eCollection 2022.

Effect of 1-methylcyclopropene on peel greasiness, yellowing, and related gene expression in postharvest 'Yuluxiang' pear

Dan Li  1   2 , Xueling Li  1 , Yudou Cheng  1 , Junfeng Guan  1
Affiliations

Effect of 1-methylcyclopropene on peel greasiness, yellowing, and related gene expression in postharvest 'Yuluxiang' pear

Dan Li et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

'Yuluxiang' pear (Pyrus sinkiangensis) commonly develop a greasy coating and yellowing during storage. In this study, 1.0 μL L-1 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) was applied to 'Yuluxiang' pear to investigate its effects on fruit quality, peel wax composition, greasiness index, chlorophyll content, and the expression pattern of related genes during storage at ambient temperature (25°C). The results showed that 1-MCP treatment maintained higher fruit firmness and chlorophyll content, decreased respiration rate, and postponed the peak of ethylene production rate, lowered the greasy index of the peel. The main wax components of peel accumulated during storage, the principal ones being alkenes (C23, C25, and C29), fatty acids (C16, C18:1, and C28), aldehydes (C24:1, C26:1, and C28:1), and esters (C22:1 fatty alcohol-C16 fatty acid, C22:1 fatty alcohol-C18:1 fatty acid, C22 fatty alcohol-C16 fatty acid, C22 fatty alcohol-C18:1 fatty acid, C24:1 fatty alcohol-C18:1 fatty acid, and C24 fatty alcohol-C18:1 fatty acid), and were reduced by 1-MCP. 1-MCP also decreased the expression of genes associated with ethylene biosynthesis and signal transduction (ACS1, ACO1, ERS1, ETR2, and ERF1), chlorophyll breakdown (NYC1, NOL, PAO, PPH, and SGR), and wax accumulation (LACS1, LACS6, KCS1, KCS2, KCS4, KCS10L, KCS11L, KCS20, FDH, CER10, KCR1, ABCG11L, ABCG12, ABCG21L, LTPG1, LTP4, CAC3, CAC3L, and DGAT1L). There were close relationships among wax components (alkanes, alkenes, fatty acids, esters, and aldehydes), chlorophyll content, greasiness index, and level of expression of genes associated with wax synthesis and chlorophyll breakdown. These results suggest that 1-MCP treatment decreased the wax content of 'Yuluxiang' pear and delayed the development of peel greasiness and yellowing by inhibiting the expression of genes related to the ethylene synthesis, signal transduction, wax synthesis, and chlorophyll degradation.

Keywords: chlorophyll; ethylene; gene expression; greasiness; pear; wax.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of 1-MCP treatment on (A) fruit firmness, (B) soluble solids content (SSC), (C) greasiness index of peel, and (D) chlorophyll content in ‘Yuluxiang’ pear during storage. Data are mean ± SE (n = 3); values labeled with different letters represent a significant difference at p<0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of 1-MCP treatment on rates of (A) respiration and (B) ethylene production in ‘Yuluxiang’ pear during storage. Data are mean ± SE (n = 3); values labeled with different letters represent a significant difference at p<0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Loading plot and (B) scoring plot of wax composition, greasiness index, and chlorophyll content based on PCA in control and 1-MCP-treated ‘Yuluxiang’ pear during storage.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of 1-MCP treatment on the principal components (alkenes, fatty acids, esters, and olefinic aldehydes) of wax on the surface of ‘Yuluxiang’ pear during storage. Data are mean ± SE (n = 3); values labeled with different letters represent a significant difference at p<0.05.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of 1-MCP treatment on the principal components (alkanes, aldehydes, fatty alcohols, and triterpenoids) of wax on the surface of ‘Yuluxiang’ pear during storage. Data are mean ± SE (n = 3); values labeled with different letters represent a significant difference at p<0.05.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effects of 1-MCP treatment on the expression levels of genes associated with ethylene biosynthesis (ACS1 and ACO1), receptors (ERS1 and ETR2), and signaling (ERF1) in the peel of ‘Yuluxiang’ pear during storage. Data are mean ± SE (n = 3); values labeled with different letters represent a significant difference at p<0.05.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effects of 1-MCP treatment on the expression pattern of genes associated with chlorophyll degradation in the peel of ‘Yuluxiang’ pear during storage. Data are mean ± SE (n = 3); values labeled with different letters represent a significant difference at p<0.05.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Effects of 1-MCP treatment on the expression pattern of genes associated with wax synthesis and transporter proteins in the peel of ‘Yuluxiang’ pear during storage. Data are mean ± SE (n = 3); values labeled with different letters represent a significant difference at p<0.05.
Figure 9
Figure 9
The relationships between peel greasiness index, chlorophyll content, and wax composition and (A) ethylene-related genes, (B) chlorophyll degradation genes, and (C) wax synthesis and transporter genes. The correlation significant level was set at P<0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bernard A., Joubès J. M. (2013). Arabidopsis cuticular waxes: Advances in synthesis, export and regulation. Prog. Lipid Res. 52, 110–129. doi: 10.1016/j.plipres.2012.10.002 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chai Y., Li A., Chit Wai S., Song C., Zhao Y., Duan Y., et al. . (2020). Cuticular wax composition changes of 10 apple cultivars during postharvest storage. Food Chem. 324, 126903. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126903 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cheng Y., Dong Y., Yan H., Ge W., Shen C., Guan J., et al. . (2012). Effects of 1-MCP on chlorophll degradation pathway-associated genes expression and chloroplast ultrastructure during the peel yellowing of Chinese pear fruits in storage. Food Chem. 135, 415–422. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.05.017 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cheng Y., Guan J. (2014). Involvement of pheophytinase in ethylene-mediated chlorophylldegradation in the peel of harvested ‘Yali’pear. J. Plant Growth Regul. 33, 364–372. doi: 10.1007/s00344-013-9383-z - DOI
    1. Christeller J. T., Roughan P. G. (2016). The novel esters farnesyl oleate and farnesyl linoleate are prominent in the surface wax of greasy apple fruit. New Zeal. J. Crop Hortic. 4, 164–170. doi: 10.1080/01140671.2016.1152979 - DOI