title: Comparative transcriptome and metabolome provides new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of accelerated senescence in litchi fruit after cold storage.
abstract: Litchi is a non-climacteric subtropical fruit of high commercial value. The shelf life of litchi fruit under ambient conditions (AC) is approximately 4-6 days. Post-harvest cold storage prolongs the life of litchi fruit for up to 30 days with few changes in pericarp browning and total soluble solids. However, the shelf life of litchi fruits at ambient temperatures after pre-cold storage (PCS) is only 1-2 days. To better understand the mechanisms involved in the rapid fruit senescence induced by pre-cold storage, a transcriptome of litchi pericarp was constructed to assemble the reference genes, followed by comparative transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. Results suggested that the senescence of harvested litchi fruit was likely to be an oxidative process initiated by ABA, including oxidation of lipids, polyphenols and anthocyanins. After cold storage, PCS fruit exhibited energy deficiency, and respiratory burst was elicited through aerobic and anaerobic respiration, which was regulated specifically by an up-regulated calcium signal, G-protein-coupled receptor signalling pathway and small GTPase-mediated signal transduction. The respiratory burst was largely associated with increased production of reactive oxygen species, up-regulated peroxidase activity and initiation of the lipoxygenase pathway, which were closely related to the accelerated senescence of PCS fruit.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ze
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hongxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhengke
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xuewu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Bao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yunjiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yueming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods; D005638:Fruit; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D032125:Litchi / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D055442:Metabolome; D055432:Metabolomics; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010766:Phosphorylation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D064210:Secondary Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D015398:Signal Transduction; D059467:Transcriptome