scholarly journals Metabolite Changes during Postharvest Storage: Effects on Fruit Quality Traits

Metabolites ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine M. Pott ◽  
José G. Vallarino ◽  
Sonia Osorio

Metabolic changes occurring in ripe or senescent fruits during postharvest storage lead to a general deterioration in quality attributes, including decreased flavor and ‘off-aroma’ compound generation. As a consequence, measures to reduce economic losses have to be taken by the fruit industry and have mostly consisted of storage at cold temperatures and the use of controlled atmospheres or ripening inhibitors. However, the biochemical pathways and molecular mechanisms underlying fruit senescence in commercial storage conditions are still poorly understood. In this sense, metabolomic platforms, enabling the profiling of key metabolites responsible for organoleptic and health-promoting traits, such as volatiles, sugars, acids, polyphenols and carotenoids, can be a powerful tool for further understanding the biochemical basis of postharvest physiology and have the potential to play a critical role in the identification of the pathways affected by fruit senescence. Here, we provide an overview of the metabolic changes during postharvest storage, with special attention to key metabolites related to fruit quality. The potential use of metabolomic approaches to yield metabolic markers useful for chemical phenotyping or even storage and marketing decisions is highlighted.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Bai ◽  
Yuanyue Shen ◽  
Yun Huang

Mineral nutrition, taken up from the soil or foliar sprayed, plays fundamental roles in plant growth and development. Among of at least 14 mineral elements, the macronutrients nitrogen (N), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca) and the micronutrient iron (Fe) are essential to Rosaceae fruit yield and quality. Deficiencies in minerals strongly affect metabolism with subsequent impacts on the growth and development of fruit trees. This ultimately affects the yield, nutritional value, and quality of fruit. Especially, the main reason of the postharvest storage loss caused by physiological disorders is the improper proportion of mineral nutrient elements. In recent years, many important mineral transport proteins and their regulatory components are increasingly revealed, which make drastic progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms for mineral nutrition (N, P, K, Ca, and Fe) in various aspects including plant growth, fruit development, quality, nutrition, and postharvest storage. Importantly, many studies have found that mineral nutrition, such as N, P, and Fe, not only affects fruit quality directly but also influences the absorption and the content of other nutrient elements. In this review, we provide insights of the mineral nutrients into their function, transport, signal transduction associated with Rosaceae fruit quality, and postharvest storage at physiological and molecular levels. These studies will contribute to provide theoretical basis to improve fertilizer efficient utilization and fruit industry sustainable development.


2018 ◽  
pp. 873-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Pannitteri ◽  
A. Continella ◽  
L. Lo Cicero ◽  
P. Legua ◽  
S. D’Aquino ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1041-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Spartalis ◽  
Eleftherios Spartalis ◽  
Antonios Athanasiou ◽  
Stavroula A. Paschou ◽  
Christos Kontogiannis ◽  
...  

Atherosclerotic disease is still one of the leading causes of mortality. Atherosclerosis is a complex progressive and systematic artery disease that involves the intima of the large and middle artery vessels. The inflammation has a key role in the pathophysiological process of the disease and the infiltration of the intima from monocytes, macrophages and T-lymphocytes combined with endothelial dysfunction and accumulated oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) are the main findings of atherogenesis. The development of atherosclerosis involves multiple genetic and environmental factors. Although a large number of genes, genetic polymorphisms, and susceptible loci have been identified in chromosomal regions associated with atherosclerosis, it is the epigenetic process that regulates the chromosomal organization and genetic expression that plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Despite the positive progress made in understanding the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, the knowledge about the disease remains scarce.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 705-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naima Mansoor ◽  
Fazli Wahid ◽  
Maleeha Azam ◽  
Khadim Shah ◽  
Anneke I. den Hollander ◽  
...  

: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disorder affecting predominantly the older people above the age of 50 years in which the macular region of the retina deteriorates, resulting in the loss of central vision. The key factors associated with the pathogenesis of AMD are age, smoking, dietary, and genetic risk factors. There are few associated and plausible genes involved in AMD pathogenesis. Common genetic variants (with a minor allele frequency of >5% in the population) near the complement genes explain 40–60% of the heritability of AMD. The complement system is a group of proteins that work together to destroy foreign invaders, trigger inflammation, and remove debris from cells and tissues. Genetic changes in and around several complement system genes, including the CFH, contribute to the formation of drusen and progression of AMD. Similarly, Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that are normally involved in tissue remodeling also play a critical role in the pathogenesis of AMD. MMPs are involved in the degradation of cell debris and lipid deposits beneath retina but with age their functions get affected and result in the drusen formation, succeeding to macular degeneration. In this review, AMD pathology, existing knowledge about the normal and pathological role of complement system proteins and MMPs in the eye is reviewed. The scattered data of complement system proteins, MMPs, drusenogenesis, and lipofusogenesis have been gathered and discussed in detail. This might add new dimensions to the understanding of molecular mechanisms of AMD pathophysiology and might help in finding new therapeutic options for AMD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-401
Author(s):  
Yuanhua Wu ◽  
Yuan Huang ◽  
Jing Cai ◽  
Donglan Zhang ◽  
Shixi Liu ◽  
...  

Background: Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury involves complex biological processes and molecular mechanisms such as autophagy. Oxidative stress plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of I/R injury. LncRNAs are the regulatory factor of cerebral I/R injury. Methods: This study constructs cerebral I/R model to investigate role of autophagy and oxidative stress in cerebral I/R injury and the underline regulatory mechanism of SIRT1/ FOXO3a pathway. In this study, lncRNA SNHG12 and FOXO3a expression was up-regulated and SIRT1 expression was down-regulated in HT22 cells of I/R model. Results: Overexpression of lncRNA SNHG12 significantly increased the cell viability and inhibited cerebral ischemicreperfusion injury induced by I/Rthrough inhibition of autophagy. In addition, the transfected p-SIRT1 significantly suppressed the release of LDH and SOD compared with cells co-transfected with SIRT1 and FOXO3a group and cells induced by I/R and transfected with p-SNHG12 group and overexpression of cells co-transfected with SIRT1 and FOXO3 further decreased the I/R induced release of ROS and MDA. Conclusion: In conclusion, lncRNA SNHG12 increased cell activity and inhibited oxidative stress through inhibition of SIRT1/FOXO3a signaling-mediated autophagy in HT22 cells of I/R model. This study might provide new potential therapeutic targets for further investigating the mechanisms in cerebral I/R injury and provide.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 594
Author(s):  
Qian-Xia Liu ◽  
Zhi-Ping Su ◽  
Hui-Hui Liu ◽  
Sheng-Ping Lu ◽  
Bing Ma ◽  
...  

Red Palm Weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier, is a notorious pest, which infests palm trees and has caused great economic losses worldwide. At present, insecticide applications are still the main way to control this pest. However, pesticide resistance has been detected in the field populations of RPW. Thus, future management strategies based on the novel association biological control need be developed. Recent studies have shown that the intestinal tract of RPW is often colonized by multiple microbial species as mammals and model insects, and gut bacteria have been found to promote the growth, development and immune activity of RPW larvae by modulating nutrient metabolism. Furthermore, two peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs), PGRP-LB and PGRP-S1, can act as the negative regulators to modulate the intestinal immunity to maintain the homeostasis of gut bacteria in RPW larvae. Here, we summarized the current knowledge on the gut bacterial composition of RPW and their impact on the physiological traits of RPW larvae. In contrast with metazoans, it is much easier to make genetic engineered microbes to produce some active molecules against pests. From this perspective, because of the profound effects of gut bacteria on host phenotypes, it is promising to dissect the molecular mechanisms behind their effect on host physiology and facilitate the development of microbial resource-based management methods for pest control.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 820
Author(s):  
José M. Lorente-Mento ◽  
Fabián Guillén ◽  
Salvador Castillo ◽  
Domingo Martínez-Romero ◽  
Juan M. Valverde ◽  
...  

The effect of melatonin pomegranate tree treatments on fruit quality and bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity at harvest and during storage at 10 °C for 60 days was assayed in two consecutive years, 2019 and 2020. In the first year, trees were treated with 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mM of melatonin along the developmental fruit growth cycle, and results showed that bioactive compounds (total phenolics and total and individual anthocyanins) and antioxidant activity at harvest were higher in fruits from melatonin-treated trees than in controls. Other fruit quality parameters, such as firmness, total soluble solids and aril red colour, were also increased as a consequence of melatonin treatment. In fruit from control tress, firmness and acidity levels decreased during storage, while increases occurred on total soluble solids, leading to fruit quality reductions. These changes were delayed, and even maintenance of total acidity was observed, in fruit from melatonin-treated trees with respect to controls, resulting in a fruit shelf-life increase. Moreover, concentration of phenolics and anthocyanins and antioxidant activity were maintained at higher levels in treated than in control fruits during the whole storage period. In general, all the mentioned effects were found at the highest level with the 0.1 mM melatonin dose, and then it was selected for repeating the experiment in the second year and results of the first year were confirmed. Thus, 0.1 mM melatonin treatment could be a useful tool to enhance aril content on bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity and health beneficial effects and to improve quality traits of pomegranate fruit, at harvest and during postharvest storage.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 3955
Author(s):  
László Bálint ◽  
Zoltán Jakus

Our understanding of the function and development of the lymphatic system is expanding rapidly due to the identification of specific molecular markers and the availability of novel genetic approaches. In connection, it has been demonstrated that mechanical forces contribute to the endothelial cell fate commitment and play a critical role in influencing lymphatic endothelial cell shape and alignment by promoting sprouting, development, maturation of the lymphatic network, and coordinating lymphatic valve morphogenesis and the stabilization of lymphatic valves. However, the mechanosignaling and mechanotransduction pathways involved in these processes are poorly understood. Here, we provide an overview of the impact of mechanical forces on lymphatics and summarize the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the mechanosensation and mechanotransduction by lymphatic endothelial cells. We also discuss how these mechanosensitive pathways affect endothelial cell fate and regulate lymphatic development and function. A better understanding of these mechanisms may provide a deeper insight into the pathophysiology of various diseases associated with impaired lymphatic function, such as lymphedema and may eventually lead to the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for these conditions.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 656
Author(s):  
Jing Jin ◽  
Rui Shi ◽  
Ramsey Steven Lewis ◽  
Howard David Shew

Phytophthora nicotianae is a devastating oomycete plant pathogen with a wide host range. On tobacco, it causes black shank, a disease that can result in severe economic losses. Deployment of host resistance is one of the most effective means of controlling tobacco black shank, but adaptation to complete and partial resistance by P. nicotianae can limit the long-term effectiveness of the resistance. The molecular basis of adaptation to partial resistance is largely unknown. RNAseq was performed on two isolates of P. nicotianae (adapted to either the susceptible tobacco genotype Hicks or the partially resistant genotype K 326 Wz/Wz) to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) during their pathogenic interactions with K 326 Wz/Wz and Hicks. Approximately 69% of the up-regulated DEGs were associated with pathogenicity in the K 326 Wz/Wz-adapted isolate when sampled following infection of its adapted host K 326 Wz/Wz. Thirty-one percent of the up-regulated DEGs were associated with pathogenicity in the Hicks-adapted isolate on K 326 Wz/Wz. A broad spectrum of over-represented gene ontology (GO) terms were assigned to down-regulated genes in the Hicks-adapted isolate. In the host, a series of GO terms involved in nuclear biosynthesis processes were assigned to the down-regulated genes in K 326 Wz/Wz inoculated with K 326 Wz/Wz-adapted isolate. This study enhances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of P. nicotianae adaptation to partial resistance in tobacco by elucidating how the pathogen recruits pathogenicity-associated genes that impact host biological activities.


Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 165 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-169
Author(s):  
Benjamin Boettner ◽  
Phoebe Harjes ◽  
Satoshi Ishimaru ◽  
Michael Heke ◽  
Hong Qing Fan ◽  
...  

Abstract Rap1 belongs to the highly conserved Ras subfamily of small GTPases. In Drosophila, Rap1 plays a critical role in many different morphogenetic processes, but the molecular mechanisms executing its function are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that Canoe (Cno), the Drosophila homolog of mammalian junctional protein AF-6, acts as an effector of Rap1 in vivo. Cno binds to the activated form of Rap1 in a yeast two-hybrid assay, the two molecules colocalize to the adherens junction, and they display very similar phenotypes in embryonic dorsal closure (DC), a process that relies on the elongation and migration of epithelial cell sheets. Genetic interaction experiments show that Rap1 and Cno act in the same molecular pathway during DC and that the function of both molecules in DC depends on their ability to interact. We further show that Rap1 acts upstream of Cno, but that Rap1, unlike Cno, is not involved in the stimulation of JNK pathway activity, indicating that Cno has both a Rap1-dependent and a Rap1-independent function in the DC process.


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