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. 2025 Mar 22;26(7):2900.
doi: 10.3390/ijms26072900.

Study on the Quality Change and Regulation Mechanism of 'Shannongsu' Pear Under Low-Temperature Storage

Cong Chen  1 , Sumin Qi  2 , Susu Zhang  1 , Ruize Hu  1 , Lu Li  1 , Xinyue Zhou  1 , Nan Wang  1 , Xuesen Chen  1 , Zongying Zhang  1
Affiliations

Study on the Quality Change and Regulation Mechanism of 'Shannongsu' Pear Under Low-Temperature Storage

Cong Chen et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

'Shannongsu' pear is a new high-quality cultivar. To ascertain the storage characteristics of 'Shannongsu' pears at low temperatures (0 ± 0.5 °C), the following parameters were determined: fruit firmness, ethylene, aromatic compounds, sugar content, acidity, ascorbic acid, and the expression levels of ethylene-related genes and texture-softening genes. The firmness of 'Shannongsu' pears changed less than that of the control, decreasing by only 18.8% after 170 days of storage. Low temperatures suppressed the expression of key genes associated with PbACS1a and PbACO1. Moreover, the expression of key genes related to fruit softening (PbPG1, PbXET, PbPME, and Pbα-L-Af) was suppressed during storage at low temperatures and remained at low levels. Therefore, the low levels of ethylene biosynthesis and the expression of key genes involved in fruit softening might play a major role in the excellent storage characteristics of the 'Shannongsu' cultivar. After 170 days of storage, 'Shannongsu' pears did not show significant changes in key quality dimensions such as firmness, sugar, acid, sugar-acid ratio, and ascorbic acid content. Therefore, low temperatures could help maintain the freshness, flavor, and nutritional quality of the 'Shannongsu' pear. Our findings reveal for the first time the low-temperature storage characteristics of 'Shannongsu' pears, providing a new scientific theoretical basis for pear production and marketing.

Keywords: Shannongsu pear; aroma; ascorbic acid content; ethylene; low temperature; saccharic acid; texture.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have no competing financial interests to declare.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Correlation analysis of ethylene content and the expression levels of PbACS1a and PbACO1 genes in ’Shannongsu’ pear: (a) Correlation analysis of ethylene content and the expression levels of PbACS1a gene in ’Shannongsu’ pear. (b) Correlation analysis of ethylene content and the expression levels of PbACO1 gene in ’Shannongsu’ pear.
Figure A2
Figure A2
Correlation analysis of ethylene content and the expression levels of PbACS1a and PbACO1 genes in ’Qiuyue’ pear: (a) Correlation analysis of ethylene content and the expression levels of PbACS1a gene in ’Qiuyue’ pear; (b) Correlation analysis of ethylene content and the expression levels of PbACO1 gene in ’Qiuyue’ pear.
Figure A3
Figure A3
Correlation analysis of ethylene content and the expression levels of PbACS1a and PbACO1 genes in ’Dangshansu’ pear: (a) Correlation analysis of ethylene content and the expression levels of PbACS1a gene in ’Dangshansu’ pear; (b) Correlation analysis of ethylene content and the expression levels of PbACO1 gene in ’Dangshansu’ pear.
Figure A4
Figure A4
Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Shannongsu’ pear and the expression levels of PbPG1, PbPME, PbXET4, Pbα-L-Af, and Pbβ-Gal genes: (a) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Shannongsu’ pear and the expression levels of Pbβ-Gal gene. (b) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Shannongsu’ pear and the expression levels of Pbα-L-Af gene. (c) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Shannongsu’ pear and the expression levels of PbPME gene. (d) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Shannongsu’ pear and the expression levels of PbXET4 gene. (e) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Shannongsu’ pear and the expression levels of PbPG1 gene.
Figure A5
Figure A5
Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Qiuyue’ pear and the expression levels of PbPG1, PbPME, PbXET4, Pbα-L-Af, and Pbβ-Gal genes: (a) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Qiuyue’ pear and the expression levels of PbPME gene. (b) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Qiuyue’ pear and the expression levels of PbXET4 gene. (c) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Qiuyue’ pear and the expression levels of Pbα-L-Af gene. (d) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Qiuyue’ pear and the expression levels of Pbβ-Gal gene. (e) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Qiuyue’ pear and the expression levels of PbPG1 gene.
Figure A6
Figure A6
Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Dangshansu’ pear and the expression levels of PbPG1, PbPME, PbXET4, Pbα-L-Af, and Pbβ-Gal genes: (a) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Dangshansu’ pear and the expression levels of PbXET4 gene. (b) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Dangshansu’ pear and the expression levels of PbPG1 gene. (c) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Dangshansu’ pear and the expression levels of PbPME gene. (d) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Dangshansu’ pear and the expression levels of Pbβ-Gal gene. (e) Correlation analysis between the firmness of ‘Dangshansu’ pear and the expression levels of Pbα-L-Af gene.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in firmness and ethylene release rate during storage: (a) firmness; (b) ethylene release rate. Values shown represent means ± SD (n = 3). Different letters indicate significant differences among varieties at the 0.05 level.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changes in soluble solids, soluble sugars, titratable acid content, and sugar–acid ratio during storage: (a) soluble solids; (b) soluble sugar content; (c) titratable acid content; (d) sugar–acid ratio. Values shown represent means ± SD (n = 3). Different letters indicate significant differences among varieties at the 0.05 level.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Changes in ascorbic acid content during storage. Values shown represent means ± SD (n = 3). Different letters indicate significant differences among varieties at the 0.05 level.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Changes in the contents of pear esters, alcohols, and aldehydes during storage: (a) changes in the content of esters; (b) changes in the content of alcohols; (c) changes in the content of aldehydes; (d) changes in total aroma contents. Values shown represent means ± SD (n = 3). Different letters indicate significant differences among varieties at the 0.05 level.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Changes in the relative expression levels of PbACS1a and PbACO1 during storage: (a) Changes in the relative expression level of PbACS1a; (b) Changes in the relative expression level of PbACO1. Values shown represent means ± SD (n = 3). Different letters indicate significant differences among varieties at the 0.05 level.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Changes in the relative expression levels of PbPG1, PbPME, PbXET4, Pbα-L-Af, Pbβ-Gal genes during storage: (a) Changes in the relative expression level of PbPG1; (b) Changes in the relative expression level of PbPME; (c) Changes in the relative expression level of PbXET4; (d) Changes in the relative expression level of Pbα-L-Af; (e) Changes in the relative expression level of Pbβ-Gal. Values shown represent means ± SD (n = 3). Different letters indicate significant differences among varieties at the 0.05 level.
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