Abstract
Wax apple is one of the most popular tropical fruit but undergoes serious post-harvest decay during storage, transportation and marketing. Melatonin (MT) plays important roles in plant growth, development and stress responses. However, its function in post-harvest preservation of fruit remains largely unknown. In the present study, the physiological function and molecular mechanism of exogenous MT for post-harvest preservation were evaluated in wax apple fruit. Results showed that MT treatment remarkably reduced decay incidence and the accumulation of excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) but increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes, suggesting that exogenous MT alleviates the post-harvest decay of wax apple by regulating the balance between ROS production and antioxidant system. Meanwhile, the gene expression was analyzed by transcriptome confirmed by quantitative PCR. This study provides insights into the regulatory mechanism and proper application strategies for post-harvest preservation of wax apple and other fruits though melatonin manipulation.
Highlights
Wax apple (Syzygium samarangense) is an important tropical cash crop in Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan (Shü et al, 2008)
The visible difference between the control and exogenous MT treatment groups became more obvious on the 5th day (Figure 1A)
The largest difference in O2− production rate and H2O2 and MDA contents between the MT treatment and control groups was observed on the 5th day of storage
Summary
Wax apple (Syzygium samarangense) is an important tropical cash crop in Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan (Shü et al, 2008). The wax apple is an immunostimulant and antibacterial drug in traditional medicine. The extract from leaves of wax apple contains many compounds including condensed tannins, flavonoids, ellagitannins and phenolic acids, and exhibits a noticeable antioxidant activity (Sobeh et al, 2018). The compound myricitrin from wax apple leaves can mitigate negative effects from oxidative stress by modulating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways, and another compound 3,5-di-O-methyl gossypetin exerts its antioxidant activity through the MAPK signaling pathway and the nuclear transcription factor-2 (Nrf-2) pathway (Sobeh et al, 2019). Wax apple fruit has become increasingly popular in Western countries because of its unique flavor. As a typical nonclimacteric fruit, wax apple cannot be further ripened following harvest; wax apples
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