LIPID CHANGES IN MICROSOMES AND PLASTIDS DURING STORAGE OF TOMATO FRUIT AT CHILLING AND NONCHILLING TEMPERATURES

Abstract

MG tomato fruit were stored for four or 12 days at chilling (2C) or nonchilling (15C) temperature. Fruits stored 12 days at 15C ripened to the turning stage, whereas fruits at 2C did not ripen. Lipids of microsomes and plastids from pericarp tissue were analyzed at harvest and after four or 12 days of storage. After 12 days at either 15C or 2C, the ratio of phospholipid (PL) to protein in microsomes declined, with a concomitant increase in the ratio of total membrane sterols (TMS) to PL. The TMS/PL ratio also increased in crude plastids. In both microsomes and plastids, free sterols (FS) increased more at 2C than at 15C, and thus accounted for a larger percentage of the TMS. The ratio of stigmasterol to sitosterol in steryl lipids, particularly in FS, increased more at 15C than at 2C. The unsaturation index of fatty acids in PL and galactolipids generally increased slightly during storage at both 15C and 2C. The ratio of phosphatidylethanolamine to P-choline increased in both membrane fractions at both temperatures. In plastids, the ratio of mono- to digalactosyldiacylglycerol declined substantially at 2C but not at 15C.