Articles
Predicting carotenoid concentrations in growing and ripening tomato fruits under varied irrigation in two different genotypes
Article number
1445_9
Pages
59 – 66
Language
English
Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between chloroplast formation in the tomato pericarp during fruit growth and carotenoid content at harvest, comparing two irrigation regimes.
We examined two tomato cultivars, M82 and IL2-5, grown under well-watered (WW) and water shortage (WS) conditions.
We hypothesized that chlorophyll concentration serves as a proxy for chloroplast density and that the abundance of chloroplasts before their transformation into chromoplasts at ripening influences carotenoid accumulation.
Combining confocal microscopy and biochemical analysis, we quantified chloroplast volume and measured chlorophyll and carotenoid content.
The U-Net_ratio, derived from image analysis, showed potential as an indicator of chlorophyll concentration in the later stages of development.
No direct correlation was found between the estimated chloroplast volume and lycopene content at harvest.
Our results also indicate that cell expansion and water accumulation due to varying irrigation regimes can influence chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations during fruit growth and at harvest.
These findings highlight the complexity of chloroplast and carotenoid dynamics under different water regimes.
They suggest the need for further research using microscopy and spatial analys to better understand plastid compartmentalization and its impact on fruit quality.
We examined two tomato cultivars, M82 and IL2-5, grown under well-watered (WW) and water shortage (WS) conditions.
We hypothesized that chlorophyll concentration serves as a proxy for chloroplast density and that the abundance of chloroplasts before their transformation into chromoplasts at ripening influences carotenoid accumulation.
Combining confocal microscopy and biochemical analysis, we quantified chloroplast volume and measured chlorophyll and carotenoid content.
The U-Net_ratio, derived from image analysis, showed potential as an indicator of chlorophyll concentration in the later stages of development.
No direct correlation was found between the estimated chloroplast volume and lycopene content at harvest.
Our results also indicate that cell expansion and water accumulation due to varying irrigation regimes can influence chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations during fruit growth and at harvest.
These findings highlight the complexity of chloroplast and carotenoid dynamics under different water regimes.
They suggest the need for further research using microscopy and spatial analys to better understand plastid compartmentalization and its impact on fruit quality.
Authors
D. Constantinescu, M. Anejae, T. Breniere, N. Bertin
Keywords
tomato, health, carotenoids, chlorophyll, plastids, chloroplast, image, confocal microscopy
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