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Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus
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Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 20091

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Juan A. Salazar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Breeding, CEBAS-CSIC, P.O. Box 164, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: fruit trees; Prunus; fruit quality; postharvest; sensory quality; genomics; transcriptomics; epigenetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruit quality and ripening processes in stone fruits trees such as Prunus species are relevant aspects to consider by breeders in any breeding program in order to select the best genotypes depending on the desired fruit characteristics. Fruit quality is defined by pomological traits, which are sensorially perceived by consumers, with the latter providing valuable information about greater or lower acceptance from a sensorial point of view. Therefore, fruit quality is closely linked to sensorial perception, meaning one concept would not be understood without the other. It is important to discern physiological and commercial maturity in order to define the treatments or storage conditions suitable for acceptable post-harvest behavior, with the aim of finding a balance between the shelf-life period and fruit quality, which will allow a wider marketing window, along with high fruit quality and great sensory appeal. To date, fruit quality and ripening have been extensively studied in stone fruit trees, considering the different levels of the molecular bases involved in the phenotypic traits, including the genomics, transcriptomics, and to a lesser extent proteomics and epigenetics. However, in spite of the advances in the last decades, it is still necessary to unravel the questions that arise in terms of ripening and fruit quality, as well as the interrelationships between them. One of the great challenges of the study of fruit quality traits is due to the polygenic nature and quantitative inheritance, largely due to the large number of physiological processes that take place during the fruit ripening process in the pre- and post-harvest stages.

This Special Issue focusing on fruit quality and ripening is intended to generate a comprehensive picture of the fruit quality- and ripening-related traits through the work of talented researchers. You are kindly invited to submit advanced works concerning the pre- and post-harvest management factors related to fruit quality and ripening, as well all processes that take place at genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and epigenetic levels. 

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Horticulturae.

Dr. Juan A. Salazar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fruit trees
  • Prunus
  • post-harvest
  • fruit quality
  • sensory quality
  • genomics
  • transcriptomics
  • proteomics
  • epigenetics

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3383 KiB  
Article
Integrative Analysis of Fruit Quality and Anthocyanin Accumulation of Plum cv. ‘Cuihongli’ (Prunus salicina Lindl.) and Its Bud Mutation
by Ling Liao, Yaman Li, Xuejiao Lan, Yiyue Yang, Wen Wei, Jinglan Ai, Xiangning Feng, Hongyu Chen, Yuhang Tang, Lijuan Xi and Zhihui Wang
Plants 2023, 12(6), 1357; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12061357 - 17 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1250
Abstract
Fruit color is one of the quality indicators to judge the freshness of a plum. The coloring process of plum skin is valuable for research due to the high nutritional quality of anthocyanins found in plums. ‘Cuihongli’ (CHL) and its precocious mutant variety [...] Read more.
Fruit color is one of the quality indicators to judge the freshness of a plum. The coloring process of plum skin is valuable for research due to the high nutritional quality of anthocyanins found in plums. ‘Cuihongli’ (CHL) and its precocious mutant variety ‘Cuihongli Red’ (CHR) were used to analyze the changes of fruit quality and anthocyanin biosynthesis during plum development. The results showed that, during the development of the two plums, the total soluble solid and soluble sugar contents were highest at the mature stage, as the titratable acid trended gradually downward as the fruits of the two cultivars matured, and the CHR fruit showed higher sugar content and lower acid content. In addition, the skin of CHR turned red in color earlier than CHL. Compared with CHL, the skin of CHR had higher anthocyanin concentrations, higher activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), chalcone isomerase (CHI), dihydroflavonol-4-reductase (DFR), and UDPglucose: flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase (UFGT), and higher transcript levels of genes associated with anthocyanin production. In the flesh of the two cultivars, no anthocyanin content was detected. Taken together, these results suggest that the mutation exerted a major effect on anthocyanin accumulation via modification of the level of transcription; thus, CHR advances the ripening period of ‘Cuihongli’ plum and improves the fruit quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus)
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13 pages, 4282 KiB  
Article
Ethylene Signal Is Involved in the Regulation of Anthocyanin Accumulation in Flesh of Postharvest Plums (Prunus salicina Lindl.)
by Xueling Li, Yudou Cheng, Ying Wang, Xiaohe Yang, Chuangqi Wei and Junfeng Guan
Plants 2023, 12(4), 893; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12040893 - 16 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1239
Abstract
Ethylene is positively correlated with the anthocyanin accumulation in postharvest plum fruit, but the regulation mechanism has not been fully clarified. In this work, the ‘Friar’ plum fruit under different storage temperatures (0, 10 and 25 °C) and treatments (100.0 μL L−1 [...] Read more.
Ethylene is positively correlated with the anthocyanin accumulation in postharvest plum fruit, but the regulation mechanism has not been fully clarified. In this work, the ‘Friar’ plum fruit under different storage temperatures (0, 10 and 25 °C) and treatments (100.0 μL L−1 ethylene and 1.0 μL L−1 1-MCP) were applied to study the relationship between anthocyanin accumulation and ethylene signal pathway. The fruits stored at 10 °C had higher ethylene production rate and more anthocyanin in flesh than those stored at 0 °C and 25 °C. Ten ethylene biosynthesis associated genes and forty-one ethylene signal transduction related genes were obtained from the previous transcriptome data. Among them, the expression levels of ethylene biosynthesis associated genes (PsACS1, PsACS4 and PsACO1), and ethylene signal transduction related genes (PsERS1s, PsETR2, PsERF1a, and PsERF12) were markedly higher in the fruits stored at 10 °C than those at 0 °C and 25 °C. Exogenous ethylene treatment enhanced while 1-MCP treatment inhibited the anthocyanin accumulation in the flesh under storage at 10 °C. In addition, exogenous ethylene treatment markedly increased the expression levels of PsACS1, PsACS4, PsACO1, PsETR2, PsERF1a, and PsERF12 in the flesh once it turning red, as well as the anthocyanin biosynthesis related genes (PsPAL, PsCHS, PsF3H, PsDRF, PsANS, PsUFGT and PsMYB10), whereas 1-MCP treatment manifested the contrary effects. Correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between genes expression related to ethylene signal pathway and anthocyanin biosynthesis, except for PsERF11. In conclusion, ethylene signal pathway is involved in the flesh reddening by up-regulating the anthocyanin biosynthesis related genes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus)
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10 pages, 2336 KiB  
Article
Inheritance of Fruit Red-Flesh Patterns in Peach
by Nathalia Zaracho, Gemma Reig, Naveen Kalluri, Pere Arús and Iban Eduardo
Plants 2023, 12(2), 394; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12020394 - 14 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2553
Abstract
Fruit color is an important trait in peach from the point of view of consumer preference, nutritional content, and diversification of fruit typologies. Several genes and phenotypes have been described for peach flesh and skin color, and although peach color knowledge has increased [...] Read more.
Fruit color is an important trait in peach from the point of view of consumer preference, nutritional content, and diversification of fruit typologies. Several genes and phenotypes have been described for peach flesh and skin color, and although peach color knowledge has increased in the last few years, some fruit color patterns observed in peach breeding programs have not been carefully described. In this work, we first describe some peach mesocarp color patterns that have not yet been described in a collection of commercial peach cultivars, and we also study the genetic inheritance of the red dots present in the flesh (RDF) and red color around the stone (CAS) in several intra- and interspecific segregating populations for both traits. For RDF, we identified a QTL at the beginning of G5 in two intraspecific populations, and for CAS we identified a major QTL in G4 in both an intraspecific and an interspecific population between almond and peach. Finally, we discuss the interaction between these QTLs and some other genes previously identified in peach, such as dominant blood flesh (DBF), color around the stone (Cs), subacid (D) and the maturity date (MD), and the implications for peach breeding. The results obtained here will help peach germplasm curators and breeders to better characterize their plant materials and to develop an integrated system of molecular markers to select these traits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus)
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19 pages, 2938 KiB  
Article
Branch Numbers and Crop Load Combination Effects on Production and Fruit Quality of Flat Peach Cultivars (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) Trained as Catalonian Vase
by Luca Mazzoni, Irene Medori, Francesca Balducci, Micol Marcellini, Paolo Acciarri, Bruno Mezzetti and Franco Capocasa
Plants 2022, 11(3), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030308 - 24 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2472
Abstract
Thinning and pruning are expensive cultural practices in peach cultivation, but essential to obtain adequate production. This study evaluated the effects of combining two pruning (four and six scaffold branches) and three thinning (low, medium, and high crop load) levels on yield and [...] Read more.
Thinning and pruning are expensive cultural practices in peach cultivation, but essential to obtain adequate production. This study evaluated the effects of combining two pruning (four and six scaffold branches) and three thinning (low, medium, and high crop load) levels on yield and fruit quality of four different flat peach cultivars, trained as Catalonian vase in 2017–2018 in Italy. Productive (average fruit weight, plant total production, and fruit circumference), qualitative (fruit firmness and overcolor, Soluble Solids Content, and Titratable Acidity), and nutritional (Total Antioxidant Capacity, and Total Phenol Content) parameters were evaluated. For productive parameters, a high crop load level led to a decrease in fruit weight and circumference, while a high crop load resulted in higher plant yield. Regarding the qualitative parameters, fruit SSC significantly increased with the diminution of the crop load level in both years of study, while TA was not influenced by crop load and number of branches. Both the total antioxidant capacity and the polyphenol content decreased with an increase in branches number. The findings derived from this study will help growers to select the most suitable combination among genotypes and plant management, to obtain the desired productive or qualitative goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus)
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16 pages, 4995 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Identification of Stress-Associated Proteins (SAPs) Encoding A20/AN1 Zinc Finger in Almond (Prunus dulcis) and Their Differential Expression during Fruit Development
by Sidra Fatima, Zeeshan Zafar, Alvina Gul and Muhammad Faraz Bhatti
Plants 2022, 11(1), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11010117 - 31 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2167
Abstract
Stress-associated proteins (SAPs) are zinc finger proteins involved in the regulation of various stresses in a variety of plant species. A total of nine PdSAP genes were identified in Prunus dulcis. Phylogenetic and synteny analyses were performed to analyze the homology and [...] Read more.
Stress-associated proteins (SAPs) are zinc finger proteins involved in the regulation of various stresses in a variety of plant species. A total of nine PdSAP genes were identified in Prunus dulcis. Phylogenetic and synteny analyses were performed to analyze the homology and evolutionary relationship of PdSAP genes. The functions of PdSAP genes were assessed by further analyses, including cis-regulatory elements, gene duplication, gene ontology, gene structure, subcellular localization, and motif pattern. This study found that PdSAP genes were unevenly distributed on chromosomes 2, 3, 6, and 7. Phylogenetic analysis of PdSAP genes with Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa suggested that six subgroups have a similar pattern of AN1 and A20 domains in each subgroup. PdSAP genes lacked duplicated blocks. The majority of PdSAP genes were localized in the nucleus region. Three hormonal and five stress cis-regulatory elements were found in the upstream promoter region of the PdSAP gene family. RNA-seq analysis revealed differential gene expression of PdSAP genes at days 12, 17, 22, 27, 32, and 37 of fruitlet development after flowering. This study identifies the SAP genes in P. dulcis and also provides insights into the expression of PdSAP genes in abnormal fruitlets with diapause atrophic growth at various developmental stages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus)
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21 pages, 10690 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Analyses of NAC Transcription Factor Family in Almond (Prunus dulcis) and Their Differential Gene Expression during Fruit Development
by Zeeshan Zafar, Sidra Fatima and Muhammad Faraz Bhatti
Plants 2021, 10(10), 2200; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10102200 - 16 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2560
Abstract
As plant specific transcription factors, NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC2) domain is involved in the plant development and stress responses. Due to the vitality of NAC gene family, BLASTp was performed to identify NAC genes in almond (Prunus dulcis). Further, phylogenetic and [...] Read more.
As plant specific transcription factors, NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC2) domain is involved in the plant development and stress responses. Due to the vitality of NAC gene family, BLASTp was performed to identify NAC genes in almond (Prunus dulcis). Further, phylogenetic and syntenic analyses were performed to determine the homology and evolutionary relationship. Gene duplication, gene structure, motif, subcellular localization, and cis-regulatory analyses were performed to assess the function of PdNAC. Whereas RNA-seq analysis was performed to determine the differential expression of PdNAC in fruits at various developmental stages. We identified 106 NAC genes in P. dulcis genome and were renamed according to their chromosomal distribution. Phylogenetic analysis in both P. dulcis and Arabidopsis thaliana revealed the presence of 14 subfamilies. Motif and gene structure followed a pattern according to the PdNAC position in phylogenetic subfamilies. Majority of NAC are localized in the nucleus and have ABA-responsive elements in the upstream region of PdNAC. Differential gene expression analyses revealed one and six PdNAC that were up and down-regulated, respectively, at all development stages. This study provides insights into the structure and function of PdNAC along with their role in the fruit development to enhance an understanding of NAC in P. dulcis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus)
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21 pages, 4114 KiB  
Article
New Insights of Potassium Sources Impacts as Foliar Application on ‘Canino’ Apricot Fruit Yield, Fruit Anatomy, Quality and Storability
by Sameh K. Okba, Yasser Mazrou, Hayam M. Elmenofy, Ahmed Ezzat and Abdel-Moety Salama
Plants 2021, 10(6), 1163; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10061163 - 08 Jun 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3467
Abstract
This is the first report to study the impacts of potassium sources on apricot fruit yield, quality and storability as a preharvest foliar application. Five sources of potassium (K-humate, K-sulphate, K-nitrate, K-silicate and K-citrate), plus water as a control treatment, were applied individually [...] Read more.
This is the first report to study the impacts of potassium sources on apricot fruit yield, quality and storability as a preharvest foliar application. Five sources of potassium (K-humate, K-sulphate, K-nitrate, K-silicate and K-citrate), plus water as a control treatment, were applied individually at 0.2% three times on ‘Canino’ apricot over the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The results showed that all potassium salts, applied foliarly, have potential to improve yield, fruit color, and some fruit physical attributes, such as: weight, size and firmness, as well as a reduced lipid peroxidation, accompanied by a low fruit malondialdehyde content reflected in a high tolerance during storage. The K-nitrate treatment was more effective in the improvement of fruit yield, preharvest quality parameters and keeping fruit postharvest quality characteristics from sharp decline during cold storage. Concerning fruit anatomy, K-nitrate and K-citrate showed thicker cuticle and epidermal parenchyma cell diameters, while the K-silicate induced the highest cell wall thickness. K-nitrate was the most economical, and could be recommended for apricot growers in the Nubaria region of Egypt. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus)
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Review

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14 pages, 327 KiB  
Review
Molecular Insights of Fruit Quality Traits in Peaches, Prunus persica
by Karpagam Veerappan, Sathishkumar Natarajan, Hoyong Chung and Junhyung Park
Plants 2021, 10(10), 2191; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10102191 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3430
Abstract
Fleshy fruits are the most demanded fruits because of their organoleptic qualities and nutritional values. The genus Prunus is a rich source of diversified stone/drupe fruits such as almonds, apricots, plums, sweet cherries, peaches, and nectarines. The fruit-ripening process in Prunus involves coordinated [...] Read more.
Fleshy fruits are the most demanded fruits because of their organoleptic qualities and nutritional values. The genus Prunus is a rich source of diversified stone/drupe fruits such as almonds, apricots, plums, sweet cherries, peaches, and nectarines. The fruit-ripening process in Prunus involves coordinated biochemical and physiological changes resulting in changes in fruit texture, aroma gain, color change in the pericarp, sugar/organic acid balance, fruit growth, and weight gain. There are different varieties of peaches with unique palatable qualities and gaining knowledge in the genetics behind these quality traits helps in seedling selection for breeding programs. In addition, peaches have shorter post-harvest life due to excessive softening, resulting in fruit quality reduction and market loss. Many studies have been executed to understand the softening process at the molecular level to find the genetic basis. To summarize, this review focused on the molecular aspects of peach fruit quality attributes and their related genetics to understand the underlying mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fruit Quality and Ripening in Prunus)
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