Biosynthesis of Chlorophyll and Other Isoprenoids in the Plastid of Red Grape Berry Skins

Abstract

Despite current knowledge showing that fruits like tomato and grape berries accumulate different components of the light reactions and Calvin cycle, the role of green tissues in fruits is not yet fully understood. In mature tomato fruits, chlorophylls are degraded and replaced by carotenoids through the conversion of chloroplasts in chromoplasts, while in red grape berries, chloroplasts persist at maturity and chlorophylls are masked by anthocyanins. To study isoprenoid and lipid metabolism in grape skin chloroplasts, metabolites of enriched organelle fractions were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-HRMS) and the expression of key genes was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in berry skins and leaves. Overall, the results indicated that chloroplasts of the grape berry skins, as with leaf chloroplasts, share conserved mechanisms of synthesis (and degradation) of important components of the photosynthetic machinery. Some of these components, such as chlorophylls and their precursors, and catabolites, carotenoids, quinones, and lipids have important roles in grape and wine sensory characteristics.

Proteomic and Low-Polar Metabolite Profiling Reveal Unique Dynamics in Fatty Acid Metabolism during Flower and Berry Development of Table Grapes

“…'Albert Lavallée' [41], and cv. 'Vinhao' [25]. Interestingly, at the ripening stage, we found that the relative amount of γ-tocopherol was slightly higher than α-tocopherol (Figure 1D), displaying an opposite accumulation, as described for several table grape and wine grape cultivars [42].…”

“…Stigmasterol abundance decreased during grape berry ripening, as previ-ously reported for cv. 'Vinhao' [25]. Furthermore, grapevine genotype is not the only component influencing lipid profile.…”

“…The malonyl-CoA produced by ACC condenses with acetyl-CoA, elongating the fatty acid chain [24]. During early grape berry development, the expression levels of genes encoding ACC and FAS increase significantly, supporting the synthesis of fatty acids and the production of essential lipids for cellular functions [25,26]. The production of long-chain fatty acids is crucial for forming storage lipids like TAGs, which serve as energy reservoirs during grape berry ripening [27].…”

A metabolome and transcriptome survey to tap the dynamics of fruit prolonged shelf-life and improved quality within Greek tomato germplasm

“…Non-polar (NP) and semi polar (SP) metabolites were extracted from, respectively, 3 and 10 mg of freeze-dried tomatoes, harvested at the red stage, for a total of three replicates for each of the seven SSL and the seven LSL genotypes. Liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-APCI/ESI-HRMS) conditions were as previously reported for NP ( Teixeira et al., 2023 ) and SP ( Dono et al., 2022 ) metabolome, respectively. Metabolites were identified through the comparison with authentic standards or MS/MS spectra when available and on the basis of the accurate masses obtained from the Pubchem database ( http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ) for native compounds or from the Metabolomics Fiehn Lab Mass Spectrometry Adduct Calculator ( http://fiehnlab.ucdavis.edu/staff/kind/Metabolomics/MS-Adduct-Calculator/ ) for adducts.…”

Production of Natural Pigments Using Microorganisms

“…Of all natural pigments, chlorophylls, belonging to the porphyrins, are the most common pigments on Earth. Chlorophylls are light-harvesting pigments that are widely distributed in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, and they can be used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. − Carotenoids, belonging to the isoprenoids, are also important industrial pigments; their global market may reach 2 billion USD by 2027 . As a result of the excellent antioxidant properties of carotenoids, they are used commercially in the food, feed, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical fields .…”