Exploring membrane vesicles in citrus fruits: a comparative analysis of conventional and organic farming approaches

Abstract

BackgroundRecently, vesicles derived from plant cell membranes received attention for their potential use as active biomolecules and nanocarriers, and obtaining them from organic crops may be an interesting option, as different farming systems can affect production, plant secondary metabolism, and biochemistry of cell membranes. This study aims to determine how organic and conventional farming affect the mineral nutrition, gas exchange, CO2 fixation, and biochemical composition of lemon fruits, which could have an impact on the different fractions of cell membranes in pulp and juice.ResultsThe results showed that organic trees had higher intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi) but conventional trees had higher stomatal conductance (gs) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUtE). Also, organic lemons had significantly higher levels of some micronutrients (Ca, Cu, Fe, and Zn). Secondly, the main differences in the membrane vesicles showed that organic pulp vesicles had a higher antioxidant activity and more oleic acid, while both types of vesicles from conventional lemons had more linoleic acid.ConclusionsIn conclusion, organic farming did not alter carbon fixation parameters but impacted nitrogen fixation and water uptake, and resulted in higher micronutrient levels in lemons. These mineral nutritional changes could be related to the higher production of membranes that showed suitable morphological traits and a high antioxidant activity, positively correlated with a high amount of oleic acid, which could have stronger cell protection characteristics.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.