CROSS-TOLERANCE AND ANTIOXIDANT METABOLISM AS DETERMINANTS OF THE RESISTANCE OF APPLE FRUIT TO POSTHARVEST BOTRYTIS DECAY

In apple, fruit storage properties and susceptibility to post-harvest phyto-pathogens differ substantially between cultivars, but little is generally understood about the molecular basis of these differences.
Recently we have shown that there is a correlation between fruit vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid, AsA), and antioxidant contents with several aspects of postharvest quality.
This relationship between elevated antioxidant contents and an improved (a)biotic stress-resistance during postharvest may be related to the capacity of tissues to deal with the consequences of H₂O₂-production resulting from infection and/or storage stresses.
Here we report on the results of a comprehensive analysis of the responses of fruit antioxidant metabolism following infection with Botrytis cinerea in the apple cultivars ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Braeburn’. Results suggest that pre-harvest exposure to high-light/high temperature stress can induce cross-tolerance to post-harvest B. cinerea infection.
Quantification of the major fruit flesh antioxidant metabolites (ascorbic acid, phenolics) and of the activities of enzymes involved in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species help us to understand possible involvement of antioxidant metabolism in resistance and the response of tissues to infection.

XXVIII International Horticultural Congress on Science and Horticulture for People (IHC2010): International Symposium on Postharvest Technology in the Global Market

B.T.A. Tuyet, T. Vanwalleghem, B. Vorstemans, P. Creemers, M. Hertog, B. Nicolaï, J. Keulemans, M.W. Davey

Malus × domestica, Botrytis, postharvest, antioxidants, induced resistance, fruit quality, cross-tolerance

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.934.40