Abstract
Harvested banana ripening is a complex physiological and biochemical process, and there are existing differences in the regulation of ripening between the pulp and peel. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms governing peel ripening are still not well understood. In this study, we performed a combination of transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomics analysis on peel during banana fruit ripening. It was found that 5784 genes, 94 proteins, and 133 metabolites were differentially expressed or accumulated in peel during banana ripening. Those genes and proteins were linked to ripening-related processes, including transcriptional regulation, hormone signaling, cell wall modification, aroma synthesis, protein modification, and energy metabolism. The differentially expressed transcriptional factors were mainly ethylene response factor (ERF) and basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family members. Moreover, a great number of auxin signaling-related genes were up-regulated, and exogenous 3-indoleacetic acid (IAA) treatment accelerated banana fruit ripening and up-regulated the expression of many ripening-related genes, suggesting that auxin participates in the regulation of banana peel ripening. In addition, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) family members play an important role in peel softening. Both heat shock proteins (Hsps) mediated-protein modification, and ubiqutin-protesome system-mediated protein degradation was involved in peel ripening. Furthermore, anaerobic respiration might predominate in energy metabolism in peel during banana ripening. Taken together, our study highlights a better understanding of the mechanism underlying banana peel ripening and provides a new clue for further dissection of specific gene functions.
Highlights
Banana is a major staple food and export product in many countries, with an annual output of 102 million tons worldwide
We conducted a combination of transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomics analyses to investigate the mechanisms underlying peel ripening in banana
Many functional genes and proteins were identified that potentially contribute to banana peel ripening, especially those associated with transcriptional regulation, hormone signaling, cell wall modification, protein modification, and energy metabolism
Summary
Banana is a major staple food and export product in many countries, with an annual output of 102 million tons worldwide (http://faostat.fao.org). Banana is a typical climacteric fruit with a pre-climacteric phase followed by a peak in the ethylene production that co-ordinates a series of ripening-associated processes, including climacteric respiration, pulp softening, peel de-greening, and aroma production [1]. A better understanding of the ripening attributes of banana fruit may help to develop strategies to improve the nutritional and sensorial quality and reduce the postharvest losses of the fruit. Numerous studies have been performed to investigate the mechanism involved in banana fruit ripening at physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. Studies on the transcriptional regulation of ripening-related genes have deepened the understanding of banana fruit ripening and quality deterioration [4,5]. Considering the complexity of the ripening processes, a large number of genes and proteins involved in ripening and senescence have not been identified in the banana
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