title: Polyphenol Oxidases in Crops: Biochemical, Physiological and Genetic Aspects.
abstract: Enzymatic browning is a colour reaction occurring in plants, including cereals, fruit and horticultural crops, due to oxidation during postharvest processing and storage. This has a negative impact on the colour, flavour, nutritional properties and shelf life of food products. Browning is usually caused by polyphenol oxidases (PPOs), following cell damage caused by senescence, wounding and the attack of pests and pathogens. Several studies indicated that PPOs play a role in plant immunity, and emerging evidence suggested that PPOs might also be involved in other physiological processes. Genomic investigations ultimately led to the isolation of PPO homologs in several crops, which will be possibly characterized at the functional level in the near future. Here, focusing on the botanic families of Poaceae and Solanaceae, we provide an overview on available scientific literature on PPOs, resulting in useful information on biochemical, physiological and genetic aspects.
authors.affiliation: SINAGRI S.r.l.-Spin off dell'Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70126 Bari, Italy. francesca.taranto@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Taranto
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70126 Bari, Italy. antonella.pasqualone@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pasqualone
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70126 Bari, Italy. giacomo.mangini@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mangini
authors.affiliation: Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria, Centro di ricerca per l'orticoltura, 84098 Pontecagnano Faiano, Italy. pasquale.tripodi@crea.gov.it.
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tripodi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70126 Bari, Italy. monicamarilena.miazzi@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Monica Marilena
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Miazzi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70126 Bari, Italy. stefano.pavan@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pavan
authors.affiliation: SINAGRI S.r.l.-Spin off dell'Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70126 Bari, Italy. cinzia.montemurro@uniba.it.|Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70126 Bari, Italy. cinzia.montemurro@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montemurro
mesh_terms: D004156:Catechol Oxidase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005511:Food Handling; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D015416:Maillard Reaction; D005810:Multigene Family
chemical_list: D004156:Catechol Oxidase
keywords: PPO genes; Poaceae; Solanaceae; browning; polyphenol oxidase activity