Scrutinising the relationship between major physiological and compositional changes during ‘Merrill O’Henry’ peach growth with brown rot susceptibility

Abstract

In the present work, the major physiological and compositional changes occurring during ‘Merrill O’Henry’ peach growth and its relationship with susceptibility to three strains of Monilinia spp. at 49, 77, 126 and 160 days after full bloom were explored. Results of disease incidence indicated wide differences among phenological stages, being 49 and 126 days after full bloom the moment when peaches showed significantly lower susceptibility to brown rot (40 and 23% of rotten fruit, respectively, for strain ML8L). Variation in brown rot susceptibility among different growth stages was also strain-dependent. Lower fruit susceptibility to ML8L at 49 and 126 was accompanied by noticeable changes in the fruit ethylene and respiration patterns, and also in sugars and organic acids content. By employing a partial least squares regression model, a strong negative relationship between citric acid, and a positive association of ethylene with peach susceptibility to Monilinia spp. at diverse phenological stages were observed. The results obtained herein highlight that the content of certain compounds such as citrate, malate and sucrose; the respiratory activity and the fruit ethylene production may mediate in a coordinated manner the fruit resistance to Monilinia spp. at different phenological stages of peach fruit.

Untangling the role of ethylene beyond fruit development and ripening: A physiological and molecular perspective focused on the Monilinia-peach interaction

“…Finally, levels increased coinciding with the onset of peach ripening. The same ET pattern was later demonstrated for 'Merrill O'Henry' peaches (Baró-Montel et al, 2021), and for 'Diamond Ray' (Vall-llaura and Fernández-Cancelo et al, 2022) or 'Fantasia' nectarines (Rasori et al, 2010). Further details about the biosynthesis of polyamines are given in section 3.4 and Figure 8.…”

Comparative network analysis reveals the dynamics of organic acid diversity during fruit ripening in peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch)

“…As we all know that peach has a relatively small genome (~230 Mb/haploid) and a short juvenile phase (2–3 years), which makes it suitable to serve as a model for investigation of the inheritance mechanism of fruit quality [ 37 ]. The growth and ripening of fleshy fruit is typically accompanied by numerous biochemical and physiological changes, such as increase of soluble sugars or decline of acidity [ 38 ]. Organic acids that are important metabolites of the tricarboxylic acid cycle occupy a central position in plant metabolism.…”

ROS-scavenging-associated transcriptional and biochemical shifts during nectarine fruit development and ripening

“…Additional samplings for fruit weight and diameter were done at regular intervals from 0 to 121 DAFB. Ethylene production and fruit respiration were determined as described elsewhere (Baró-Montel et al, 2021). Four replicates of 5 fruit each, per sampling, were placed in sealed flasks of different volumes (depending on the developmental stage), in an acclimatised chamber at 20 °C, equipped with a silicon septum for sampling the gas of the headspace after 2 h incubation.…”

“…The analysis of ethylene and respiration dynamics during the development of 'Diamond Ray' nectarines revealed that ethylene production, and to a lower extent the respiration rate, was greatest in the period of maximum fruit growth (Fig. 1), a phenomenon that seems to be conserved among different cultivars (Baró-Montel et al, 2021) and to some extent among Rosaceae spp. i.e.…”