Improved Cold Tolerance of Mango Fruit with Enhanced Anthocyanin and Flavonoid Contents

Pradeep Sudheeran,Dalia Maurer,Noam Alkan,Oleg Feygenberg

doi:10.3390/molecules23071832

Abstract

Red fruits were suggested to be tolerant to cold. To understand cold-storage tolerance of red mango fruit that were subjected to sunlight at the orchard, mango cv. Shelly from inside (green fruit) or outside (red fruit) the tree canopy was stored for 3 weeks at 5, 8 or 12 °C and examined for flavonoids, antioxidant, volatiles and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. Red fruit from the outer canopy showed significant increases in total anthocyanin and flavonoids, and antioxidant activity. Ripening parameters for red and green mango fruit were similar at harvest and during storage. However, red fruit with high anthocyanin and flavonoid contents were more tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses. After 3 weeks of suboptimal cold storage, green fruit showed significantly more lipid peroxidation and developed significantly more chilling-injury symptoms—black spots and pitting—than red fruit. Volatiles of red and green peels revealed significant modulations in response to cold-storage. Moreover, red fruit were more tolerant to biotic stress and had reduced general decay incidence. However, during long storage at 10 °C for 4, 5 or 6 weeks, red fruit showed a non-significant reduction in decay and chilling injuries. These results suggest new approaches to avoiding chilling injury during cold storage.

Highlights

Mango (Mangifera indica L.), is an economically important fruit, distributed worldwide, which belongs to the family Anacardiaceae
Uniform, unblemished fruit were selected on the basis of skin color: red fruit with more than 60%, and green fruit with less than 10%, of the fruit peel colored in red
In response to light, ‘Shelly’ mango fruit that grew on the outer part of the tree canopy accumulated anthocyanin and red color in their peel, whereas the non-exposed surfaces of red fruit or fruit that developed inside the canopy were less exposed to sunlight and remained green [12]

Summary

Introduction

Mango (Mangifera indica L.), is an economically important fruit, distributed worldwide, which belongs to the family Anacardiaceae. Storage of mango fruit at temperatures lower than 12 ◦ C leads to the development of chilling injuries, which are expressed as physiological and biochemical alterations and cellular dysfunctions These alterations include stimulated ethylene production, increased respiratory rate, enzyme inactivation, membrane dysfunction, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and changes in cellular structure, which lead to the development of chilling-injury symptoms such as pitting, black spots, peel discoloration, water-soaked appearance, internal breakdown and browning, uneven ripening, off-flavor and decay [4,5]. This limits the application of cold storage to extend mango’s lifetime. Mango fruit transcriptome was characterized in response to storage at suboptimal temperature and showed activation of defense response signal transduction, lipid peroxidation and a significant activation of the phenylpropanoids biosynthetic pathway [6]

Methods

Results

Conclusion