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Horticulturae
Special Issues
Molecular, Genetic and Physiological Control of Fruit Quality
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Molecular, Genetic and Physiological Control of Fruit Quality

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Developmental Physiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2018) | Viewed by 20546

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nadia Bertin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
INRA PSH UR1115 Domaine Saint Paul, Site Agroparc, 228 route de l'Aérodrome, CS 40509, France
Interests: fruit quality; growth processes; primary metabolism; adaptation to water deficit; genetic variability; process-based models
Dr. Anne-Laure Fanciullino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
INRA PSH UR1115 Domaine Saint Paul, Site Agroparc, 228 route de l'Aérodrome, CS 40509, France
Interests: fruit quality; secondary metabolism; carotenoids; genetic variability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The demand for greater fresh fruit quality has increasingly been reflected in consumer behaviour in recent years. Whereas most technical and genetic improvements have focused on yield and disease resistance traits, a main concern now is to improve taste and health value to answer the consumer demand. Fruit are an important part of the human diet. A common dietary recommendation for the prevention of chronic diseases is to eat more than five rations of fruit and vegetables per day. Thus, there is much interest in improving fruit quality traits such as flavour, texture, aroma and phytonutrient/antioxidant content. At the same time, growers are tackling new challenging constraints related to improving yield and quality in low-input sustainable production systems and in response to climate change. Complex quality traits are built throughout the developmental and ripening processes. They are controlled by multiple environmental and genetic factors. Important insights have been made in the mechanisms controlling fruit development and ripening and some key biosynthetic pathways, especially in tomato, a common model for fleshy fruits. However, much less is known about the connections between biosynthetic pathways, their sub-cellular compartmentation, or the evolutionary conservation of regulatory mechanisms across plant species and families. Moreover, the effect of interaction of genotype with environmental factors on these aspects needs to be addressed.

This Special Issue on "Molecular, Genetic and Physiological Control of Fruit Quality" intends to provide novel insight into fruit quality with a specific focus on above aspects. Your contributions to this topic through literature reviews or original research papers that use genetic, molecular or (eco-)physiological approaches are welcomed on all fruit species.

Dr. Nadia Bertin
Dr. Anne-Laure Fanciullin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fruit quality
  • primary and secondary metabolism
  • genotype by environment interaction

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1148 KiB  
Article
Hormonal Regulation of Early Fruit Development in European Pear (Pyrus communis cv. ‘Conference’)
by Muriel Quinet, Christel Buyens, Petre I. Dobrev, Václav Motyka and Anne-Laure Jacquemart
Horticulturae 2019, 5(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5010009 - 22 Jan 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4975
Abstract
European pear requires inter-cultivar cross-pollination by insects to develop fertilized fruits. However, some European pear cultivars such as ‘Conference’ naturally produce parthenocarpic seedless fruits. To better understand the hormonal regulation of fruit set and early fruit development in this European pear cultivar, the [...] Read more.
European pear requires inter-cultivar cross-pollination by insects to develop fertilized fruits. However, some European pear cultivars such as ‘Conference’ naturally produce parthenocarpic seedless fruits. To better understand the hormonal regulation of fruit set and early fruit development in this European pear cultivar, the phytohormone and polyamine profiles in ‘Conference’ flowers and fruits resulting from both fertilization and parthenocarpic processes were analyzed. The expression of genes involved in phytohormone metabolism and signaling were also investigated. Phytohormone profiles differed more at flower stage 3 days after treatment than in 15 day- and 30-day-old fruits in response to fertilization and parthenocarpy. An increase in auxins, abscisic acid, ethylene precursor, and spermine, and a decrease in putrescine were recorded in the fertilized flowers as compared to the parthenocarpic flowers. Fertilization also upregulated genes involved in gibberellin synthesis and down-regulated genes involved in gibberellin catabolism although the total gibberellin content was not modified. Moreover, exogenous gibberellin (GA3, GA4/7) and cytokinin (6BA) applications did not increase parthenocarpic induction in ‘Conference’ as observed in other European and Asian pear cultivars. We hypothesize that the intrinsic parthenocarpy of ‘Conference’ could be related to a high gibberellin level in the flowers explaining why exogenous gibberellin application did not increase parthenocarpy as observed in other pear cultivars and species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular, Genetic and Physiological Control of Fruit Quality)
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12 pages, 594 KiB  
Article
Postharvest UV-C Treatment, Followed by Storage in a Continuous Low-Level Ethylene Atmosphere, Maintains the Quality of ‘Kensington Pride’ Mango Fruit Stored at 20 °C
by Penta Pristijono, John B. Golding and Michael C. Bowyer
Horticulturae 2019, 5(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5010001 - 25 Dec 2018
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4662
Abstract
Mature green ‘Kensington Pride’ mangoes (Mangifera indica L.) were treated with a short-term UV-C light at four different intensities (0, 4.0, 8.3 and 11.7 kJ m−2). After treatment, mangoes were stored for 12 d in air (<0.005 μL L−1 [...] Read more.
Mature green ‘Kensington Pride’ mangoes (Mangifera indica L.) were treated with a short-term UV-C light at four different intensities (0, 4.0, 8.3 and 11.7 kJ m−2). After treatment, mangoes were stored for 12 d in air (<0.005 μL L−1 ethylene) or 0.1 μL L−1 ethylene at 20 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH). Weight loss, peel colour, firmness, ethylene production, respiration rate, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), total chlorophyll content, total phenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidant activity were assessed at 3-d intervals. The results showed that UV-C treatment delayed skin degreening, reduced endogenous ethylene production, suppressed respiration rate and lowered chlorophyll content compared to untreated control fruit. Fruit treated with UV-C had significantly higher TPC and total antioxidant activity at the end of the storage period than untreated fruits for both storage atmospheres. In addition, UV-C treated fruits remained significantly firmer than untreated fruits. UV-C treatment significantly affected TSS and TA levels in different ways. Storage of fruits in 0.1 μL L−1 ethylene significantly affected fruit firmness, respiration rate and ethylene production, while other fruit quality parameters were similar to fruit stored in air. These results indicated that UV-C irradiation could be used as an effective and rapid method to extend the postharvest life of mature green mangoes without adversely affecting certain quality attributes in the presence of low-level ethylene during storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular, Genetic and Physiological Control of Fruit Quality)
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16 pages, 901 KiB  
Article
Developmental Variation in Fruit Polyphenol Content and Related Gene Expression of a Red-Fruited versus a White-Fruited Fragaria vesca Genotype
by Sutapa Roy, Sanjay Singh and Douglas D. Archbold
Horticulturae 2018, 4(4), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae4040030 - 01 Oct 2018
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3908
Abstract
Two cultivars of F. vesca, red-fruited Baron Solemacher (BS) and white-fruited Pineapple Crush (PC), were studied to compare and contrast the quantitative accumulation of major polyphenols and related biosynthetic pathway gene expression patterns during fruit development and ripening. Developing PC fruit showed [...] Read more.
Two cultivars of F. vesca, red-fruited Baron Solemacher (BS) and white-fruited Pineapple Crush (PC), were studied to compare and contrast the quantitative accumulation of major polyphenols and related biosynthetic pathway gene expression patterns during fruit development and ripening. Developing PC fruit showed higher levels of hydroxycinnamic acids in green stages and a greater accumulation of ellagitannins in ripe fruit in comparison to BS. In addition to anthocyanin, red BS fruit had greater levels of flavan-3-ols when ripe than PC. Expression patterns of key structural genes and transcription factors of the phenylpropanoid/flavonoid biosynthetic pathway, an abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthetic gene, and a putative ABA receptor gene that may regulate the pathway, were also analyzed during fruit development and ripening to determine which genes exhibited differences in expression and when such differences were first evident. Expression of all pathway genes differed between the red BS and white PC at one or more times during development, most notably at ripening when phenylalanine ammonia lyase 1 (PAL1), chalcone synthase (CHS), flavanone-3′-hydroxylase (F3′H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), anthocyanidin synthase (ANS), and UDP:flavonoid-O-glucosyltransferase 1 (UFGT1) were significantly upregulated in the red BS fruit. The transcription factors MYB1 and MYB10 did not differ substantially between red and white fruit except at ripening, when both the putative repressor MYB1 and promoter MYB10 were upregulated in red BS but not white PC fruit. The expression of ABA-related gene 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase 1 (NCED1) was higher in red BS fruit but only in the early green stages of development. Thus, a multigenic effect at several points in the phenylpropanoid/flavonoid biosynthetic pathway due to lack of MYB10 upregulation may have resulted in white PC fruit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular, Genetic and Physiological Control of Fruit Quality)
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14 pages, 4362 KiB  
Article
Ripening Characteristics and Pigment Changes in Russeted Pear Fruit in Response to Ethylene and 1-MCP
by Nongluk Charoenchongsuk, Daiki Matsumoto, Akihiro Itai and Hideki Murayama
Horticulturae 2018, 4(3), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae4030022 - 28 Aug 2018
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6496
Abstract
Ripening characteristics and pigment changes were investigated in ‘La France’, ‘Gorham’, and their russeted sports ‘Gold La France’ and ‘Grand Champion’ pears. Fruit were harvested at commercial maturity and ripened at 20 °C. In all cultivars, fruit softening was concomitant with a burst [...] Read more.
Ripening characteristics and pigment changes were investigated in ‘La France’, ‘Gorham’, and their russeted sports ‘Gold La France’ and ‘Grand Champion’ pears. Fruit were harvested at commercial maturity and ripened at 20 °C. In all cultivars, fruit softening was concomitant with a burst in ethylene production. Interestingly, such changes were delayed in russet pear when compared with their wild-types. Chlorophyll level in russet pear at harvest was the same as in the wild-type. In ‘Gorham’ and ‘Grand Champion’ pears, its level rapidly decreased during ripening. Ethylene or 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) did not affect the color and pigments in ‘La France’ and ‘Gold La France’ pears. In contrast, in ‘Gorham’ and ‘Grand Champion’ pears, chlorophyll degradation was suppressed by 1-MCP treatment, but not completely. These results suggested that chlorophyll degradation was regulated by both ethylene-dependent and ethylene-independent means. The influence of ethylene on the expression of chlorophyll-degradation-related genes seemed to be similar in both russet and wild-type. The Stay green-1 gene was stimulated by ethylene and suppressed by 1-MCP treatment. In contrast, little effect of ethylene or 1-MCP was observed on chlorophyllase 1, pheophytinase, pheophorbide a oxygenase, and NYC1-like genes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular, Genetic and Physiological Control of Fruit Quality)
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