Dynamic Changes in Cell Wall Polysaccharides during Fruit Development and Ripening of Two Contrasting Loquat Cultivars and Associated Molecular Mechanisms

• Published in: Foods Vol. 12; no. 2; p. 309
• Main Authors: Deng, Honghong, Wang, Xi, Wang, Yang, Xiang, Yinchun, Chen, Mingmin, Zhang, Huifen, Luo, Xian, Xia, Hui, Liang, Dong, Lv, Xiulan, Wang, Jin, Deng, Qunxian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 09.01.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Cell division; cell wall polysaccharides; Cell walls; Cellobiohydrolase; Cellulase; Cellulose; Consumers; Crop improvement; Cultivars; Developmental stages; enzyme activity; Enzymes; Essential nutrients; Food science; fruit firmness; Fruits; Gene expression; Hemicellulose; Lignin; loquat; Metabolism; Methods; Molecular modelling; Nutrients; Pectin; Peroxidase; Polygalacturonase; Polysaccharides; Quality management; Ripening; Saccharides; Xylanase; United States > US; China; cell wall polysaccharides; fruit firmness; enzyme activity; loquat; gene expression
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods12020309

Loquats have drawn much attention due to their essential nutrients and unusual phenology, which fills a market gap in early spring. Fruit firmness (FF) is one of the most important quality attributes. Dynamic changes in FF, cell wall (CW) polysaccharides, CW hydrolase activity, and expression of CW metabolism-related genes during the fruit development and ripening stages of two contrasting loquat cultivars were compared. Although the two cultivars possessed similar FF at the initial fruitlet stage, Dawuxing was significantly firmer than Ninghaibai at all subsequent time points. FF was positively correlated with the contents of covalent-soluble pectin and hemicellulose, activity of peroxidase, and gene expressions of , , 6, and ; and negatively correlated with the contents of water-soluble pectin, activities of polygalacturonase, endo-glucanase, cellobiohydrolase, and xylanase, and gene expressions of , 2, 1, 3, and 5. Identifying molecular mechanisms underlying the differences in FF is useful for fundamental research and crop improvement in future.