A shift of phloem unloading from symplasmic to apoplasmic pathway during fig fruit development

Abstract

To uncover the phloem unloading pathway of fig fruit, five-stage fruit of Masui Dauphine fig ( Ficuscarica L., Moraceae ) were used to research, including small green, big green, initial red, partial red, and full red, at about 15, 30, 65, 70 and 85 d after flower bud differentiation. A combination of electron microscopy and phloem-mobile symplasmic tracer carboxyfluorescein (CF), the phloem unloading pathway was studied in the developmental fruit, meanwhile, fruit size and color, as well as soluble sugar and starch contents were also analasis.