Transcriptome combined with long non-coding RNA analysis reveals the potential molecular mechanism of high-CO2 treatment in delaying postharvest strawberry fruit ripening and senescence

Abstract

Strawberry fruit is susceptible to postharvest spoilage with a short shelf-life, and high-CO2 treatment is an effective method to maintain the postharvest storage quality of fruit and vegetables. The aim of this study is to investigate the molecular mechanisms of high-CO2 treatment delaying the ripening and senescence of strawberry fruit after harvest. The results of this study showed that high-CO2 treatment delayed the softening and anthocyanin accumulation of strawberry fruit during storage. Transcriptome combined with long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) analysis revealed that ripening and senescence-related genes involved in abscisic acid (ABA) metabolism, cell wall degradation and anthocyanin accumulation could be regulated as potential targets by lncRNAs. Under high-CO2 treatment conditions, the expression levels of a large number of lncRNAs were altered, thereby affecting the expression patterns of downstream ripening and senescence-related target genes and resulting in the delay of fruit ripening and senescence. This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of strawberry fruit ripening and senescence and high-CO2 treatment applied to postharvest preservation of strawberry fruit from the lncRNA-mRNA perspective.