Abstract
Lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera) is an edible rhizome that the consumption/production has continuously increased as more consumers demand convenient and ready-to-eat foods. However, the processing, storage, and transportation of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables promotes physiological deterioration, such as browning, which leads to a reduction in the value of the product. This study aimed to reduce the browning of lotus root pericarps during long-term storage and long-distance transport, and to clarify the functions of unigenes and browning-associated metabolic pathways using RNA-sequencing techniques. Intact lotus root cv. ‘Kanasumi No.34’ browning decreased after the roots were packed along with an anti-browning solution. Over 200 million short single-end reads were mapped onto the N. nucifera consensus coding sequence set. The significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Based on the Uniprot, GO, and KEGG databases, secondary metabolism, lipid metabolism, and redox state genes were significantly upregulated in the un-packed and packed with water treatments compared to after harvest sample. Additionally, 16 expected DEGs (e.g., PPO, PAL, POD, CHS, PDCR, and SOD), which are affected by browning development, were differentially regulated in lotus root pericarp. The gene expression data presented in this study will help elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying browning development in intact lotus root during long-term storage. The results may also inform future research on improving the post-harvest shelf life of lotus roots’.
Highlights
Lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera), an edible rhizome, is a popular vegetable across the globe because of its attractive white color, abundant nutrients, and crispness
The browning of intact lotus root was reduced by packing them with an anti-browning solution (PAA, PO, and PC; Fig. 8)
The genes involved in lotus root browning were identified by comparing the after harvest (AH), UP, and packed with water (PW) transcriptomes after 6 h. storage at low temperature
Summary
Lotus root (Nelumbo nucifera), an edible rhizome, is a popular vegetable across the globe because of its attractive white color, abundant nutrients, and crispness. It is well known that the enzymatic browning of fruits and vegetables is a consequence of mechanical and physical stresses that occur during post-harvest handling, processing, storage, and transportation These stresses promote physiological deterioration, which reduces the value of the product. Most anti-browning systems extend the shelf life and improve the quality of postharvest fruits and vegetables by including chemical and physical methods that inhibit polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity. They tend to focus on the essential components of reactions, such as oxygen, copper ions, and substrates (Queiroz 2008)
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