TY - JOUR
T1 - Biochemical and physiological study of the firmness of table grape berries
AU - Balic, Ivan
AU - Ejsmentewicz, Troy
AU - Sanhueza, Dayan
AU - Silva, Christian
AU - Peredo, Tamara
AU - Olmedo, Patricio
AU - Barros, Miriam
AU - Verdonk, Julian C.
AU - Paredes, Rodolfo
AU - Meneses, Claudio
AU - Prieto, Humberto
AU - Orellana, Ariel
AU - Defilippi, Bruno G.
AU - Campos-Vargas, Reinaldo
N1 - Funding Information:
Fondecyt 1110406, UNAB DI-152-12/R, UNAB DI-415-13/I and Basal Project PFB-16 funded this research. Balic, I. and Sanhueza, D. were supported by a CONICYT-Doctoral fellowship.
PY - 2014/7
Y1 - 2014/7
N2 - Firmness is an essential quality parameter of table grapes (Vitis vinifera) for consumers, with grape bunches that contains soft berries less preferred, resulting in a reduction in the market price. The softening of grape berries has been commonly associated with cell walls, especially the disassembly of pectic polysaccharides. However, the process of berry softening is not completely understood. To investigate the softening process of grape berries, we compared the Thompson Seedless variety, which suffers significant economic losses due to fruit softening, and NN107, a new variety with a significantly higher level of berry firmness. The composition of the cell wall during the berry development of these two grape varieties was compared. NN107 berries had a greater amount of calcium and uronic acids in the cell wall material than Thompson Seedless grapes, suggesting a special role for calcium bridge formation in NN107. Additionally, polyacrylamide carbohydrate electrophoresis (PACE) analysis suggested differences between these varieties in pectin structure. Thompson Seedless grapes showed increased pectolyase hydrolysable site dynamics in the cell wall material and higher polygalacturonase activity than NN107. Immunohistochemistry focusing on the pectin structure confirmed the roles of both calcium bridge formation and cell wall integrity as they relate to a firmer grape berry phenotype.
AB - Firmness is an essential quality parameter of table grapes (Vitis vinifera) for consumers, with grape bunches that contains soft berries less preferred, resulting in a reduction in the market price. The softening of grape berries has been commonly associated with cell walls, especially the disassembly of pectic polysaccharides. However, the process of berry softening is not completely understood. To investigate the softening process of grape berries, we compared the Thompson Seedless variety, which suffers significant economic losses due to fruit softening, and NN107, a new variety with a significantly higher level of berry firmness. The composition of the cell wall during the berry development of these two grape varieties was compared. NN107 berries had a greater amount of calcium and uronic acids in the cell wall material than Thompson Seedless grapes, suggesting a special role for calcium bridge formation in NN107. Additionally, polyacrylamide carbohydrate electrophoresis (PACE) analysis suggested differences between these varieties in pectin structure. Thompson Seedless grapes showed increased pectolyase hydrolysable site dynamics in the cell wall material and higher polygalacturonase activity than NN107. Immunohistochemistry focusing on the pectin structure confirmed the roles of both calcium bridge formation and cell wall integrity as they relate to a firmer grape berry phenotype.
KW - Berry firmness
KW - Calcium
KW - Cell wall
KW - Pectin
KW - Table grape
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84896057083&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2014.02.001
DO - 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2014.02.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84896057083
SN - 0925-5214
VL - 93
SP - 15
EP - 23
JO - Postharvest Biology and Technology
JF - Postharvest Biology and Technology
ER -