Exogenous Melatonin Treatment Increases Chilling Tolerance and Induces Defense Response in Harvested Peach Fruit during Cold Storage.
The effect of exogenous melatonin on chilling injury in peach fruit after harvest was investigated. To explore the optimum concentration of melatonin for chilling tolerance induction, peach fruit were treated with 50, 100, or 200 μM melatonin for 120 min and then stored for 28 days at 4 °C. The results showed that application of melatonin at 100 μM was most effective in reducing chilling injury of peach fruit after harvest. Peaches treated with melatonin at this concentration displayed higher levels of extractable juice rate and total soluble solids than the non-treated peaches. In addition, melatonin treatment enhanced expression of PpADC, PpODC, and PpGAD and consequently increased polyamines and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) contents. Meanwhile, the upregulated transcripts of PpADC and PpODC and inhibited PpPDH expression resulted in the higher proline content in melatonin-treated fruit compared to the control fruit. Our results revealed that melatonin treatment may be a useful technique to alleviate chilling injury in cold-stored peach fruit. The chilling tolerance of harvested peaches induced by melatonin treatment is associated with higher levels of polyamine, GABA, and proline. These data provided here are the first protective evidence of exogenous melatonin in harvested horticultural products in response to direct chilling stress.
Nanjing Research Institute for Agricultural Mechanization , Ministry of Agriculture, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210014, People's Republic of China.
Shifeng
S
Cao
College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Wanli University , Ningbo, Zhejiang 315100, People's Republic of China.
Chunbo
C
Song
College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Wanli University , Ningbo, Zhejiang 315100, People's Republic of China.
Jiarong
J
Shao
College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Wanli University , Ningbo, Zhejiang 315100, People's Republic of China.
Kun
K
Bian
College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Wanli University , Ningbo, Zhejiang 315100, People's Republic of China.
Wei
W
Chen
College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Wanli University , Ningbo, Zhejiang 315100, People's Republic of China.
Zhenfeng
Z
Yang
D003080:Cold Temperature; D005520:Food Preservatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D061353:Food Storage; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011392:Proline / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D000068239:Prunus persica / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
D005520:Food Preservatives; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D011392:Proline; D008550:Melatonin
melatonin; peach fruit; polyamines; proline; γ-aminobutyric acid