Plant Physiology 100:1203-1210 (1992)
© 1992 American Society of Plant Biologists
Cellular and Structural Biology
Cell Wall Changes in Nectarines (Prunus persica) 1
Solubilization and Depolymerization of Pectic and Neutral Polymers during Ripening and in Mealy Fruit
Debra M. Dawson,
Laurence D. Melton and
Christopher B. Watkins
University of Otago, P. O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand,
Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand, Private Bag 92 169, Auckland, New Zealand
Nectarine fruit (Prunus persica L. Batsch var nectarina [Ait] maxim) cultivar Fantasia were either ripened immediately after harvest at 20°C or stored for 5 weeks at 2°C prior to ripening. Fruit ripened after 5 weeks of storage did not soften to the same extent as normally ripened fruit, they lacked juice, and had a dry, mealy texture. Pectic and hemicellulosic polysaccharides were solubilized from the mesocarp of the fruit using phenol:acetic acid:water (PAW) treatment to yield PAW-soluble material and cell wall material (CWM). The carbohydrate composition and relative molecular weight (Mr) of polysaccharide fractions released from the CWM by sequential treatment with cyclohexane-trans-1,2-diamine tetra-acetate, 0.05 M Na2CO3, 6 M guanidinium thiocyanate, and 4 M KOH were determined. Normal ripening of nectarines resulted in solubilization of pectic polymers of high Mr from CWM during the first 2 d at ripening temperatures. Concurrently, galactan side chains were removed from pectic polymers. Solubilized pectic polymers were depolymerized to lower Mr species during the latter stages of ripening. Upon removal from cool storage, fruit had undergone some pectic polymer solubilization, and after ripening, pectins were not depolymerized and were of high Mr. Side chains did not appear to be removed from insoluble pectic polymers and branched pectins accumulated in the CWM. The molecular weight profiles obtained by gel filtration of the hemicellulosic fractions from normally ripening and mealy fruit were similar. The results suggest that mealiness results as a consequence of altered pectic polymer breakdown, including that associated with neutral side chains.
1 Supported in part by a grant from the New Zealand Summerfruit Council and a DSIR Biological Industries Group Fellowship.
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