Quality retention and selective gene expression of Chinese flowering cabbage as affected by atmosphere gas composition

Abstract

The aim of this research was to obtain the optimum gas compositions of controlled atmosphere (CA) for Chinese flowering cabbage stored at 10°C and to clarify the molecular mechanism of senescence during storage under two selected CA conditions. Two CA experiments were conducted. The first one was on low O2 (5% and 10%) and high CO2 (5% and 10%) combinations, and the second one was on air O2 (20.4%) and high CO2 (5%, 10%, 15%, 30%, and 45%) combinations. It was shown that CA2 (5% O2 + 10% CO2) achieved the best beneficial effects on cabbage quality among all the treatments. CA2 and CA7 (20.4% O2 + 15% CO2), significantly decreased the activities of Chlase and MDCase, and down-regulated the transcript abundances of the BrChlase, BrPAO, BrRCCR, and BrSAG12. Practical applications Rapid leaf yellowing and deterioration are the key problems limiting the shelf life and marketing of Chinese flowering cabbage. While CA2 treatment was highly effective in preventing stalks from losing turgor, delaying leaf yellowing, and maintained 78.3% of chlorophyll, 81.6% of ascorbic acid, 68.1% of soluble protein, and 85.4% of soluble sugar after 8 days of storage. The CA2 storage showed the best effect in blocking the transcription of BrRCCR, whereas CA7 showed the best effect in repressing the transcription of BrSAG12. These findings present favorable CA compositions for the postharvest storage and transportation of Chinese flowering cabbage and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms of senescence in this vegetable.