Identification of Fungal Pathogens to Control Postharvest Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis) Decays and Multi-Omics Comparative Pathway Analysis Reveals Purple Is More Resistant to Pathogens than a Yellow Cultivar.

Hafiz Muhammad Rizwan,Xiaoxia Wei,Michael Reichelt,Nigarish Munir,Ahmed Fathy Yousef,Ralf Oelmüller,Lin Zhimin,Yang Qiang,Wiwiek Harsonowati,Sandra S Scholz,Abdul Waheed,Faxing Chen

doi:10.3390/jof7100879

Abstract

Production of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) is restricted by postharvest decay, which limits the storage period. We isolated, identified, and characterized fungal pathogens causing decay in two passion fruit cultivars during two fruit seasons in China. Morphological characteristics and nucleotide sequences of ITS-rDNA regions identified eighteen isolates, which were pathogenic on yellow and purple fruit. Fusarium kyushuense, Fusarium concentricum, Colletotrichum truncatum, and Alternaria alternata were the most aggressive species. Visible inspections and comparative analysis of the disease incidences demonstrated that wounded and non-wounded yellow fruit were more susceptible to the pathogens than the purple fruit. Purple cultivar showed higher expression levels of defense-related genes through expression and metabolic profiling, as well as significantly higher levels of their biosynthesis pathways. We also found fungi with potential beneficial features for the quality of fruits. Our transcriptomic and metabolomics data provide a basis to identify potential targets to improve the pathogen resistance of the susceptible yellow cultivar. The identified fungi and affected features of the fruit of both cultivars provide important information for the control of pathogens in passion fruit industry and postharvest storage.

Highlights

IntroductionPassion fruit (Passiflora edulis) belongs to the Passifloraceae family and is a perennial evergreen climbing vine with more than 500 species
Introduction conditions of the Creative CommonsPassion fruit (Passiflora edulis) belongs to the Passifloraceae family and is a perennial evergreen climbing vine with more than 500 species
The 30–40% visible soft-decay lesions were observed on the fruit surface and characterized by a white to yellowish-light brown skin color, which expand to the whole fruit surface making a soggy fruit (Figure 1A,D)

Summary

Introduction

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) belongs to the Passifloraceae family and is a perennial evergreen climbing vine with more than 500 species. From the estimated 1.46 million tons of global production in 2017,. 1 million tons came from Brazil [2]. Passion fruit is usually consumed as fruit juice; it is rich in nutrients with pleasing and diverse aromas, and the fresh fruit is used as raw material in the beverage industry [3]. Two cultivars, the acidic purple passion fruit Sims) and the sweeter yellow passion fruit The passion fruit industry and market are constantly evolving worldwide due to the increasing demand of the active ingredients in the fruit and the health benefits for consumers

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Conclusion