Abstract
This paper reports ethylene production, expression levels of ethylene precursor’s genes, as well as carotenoid content and expression levels of carotenoid biosynthesis genes, during postharvest ripening of three different papaya genotypes of contrasting origin (2 creoles and 1 commercial) and pulp color (yellow, orange and red), under conditions that promote ethylene formation and under those inhibiting ethylene. Our study showed that naturally ripened papaya fruits presented relatively high ethylene production levels that was correlated with changes in expression levels of both ethylene precursor’s genes (CpACCs1, CpACCs2, CpACCo1 and CpACCo2), and carotenoid biosynthesis genes (CpPSY, CpZDS, CpLCY-β2, CpCHX-β). However, when papaya fruits were treated with an ethylene inducer (Ethephon; 2.5 g L− 1 of 2-chloroethyl-phosphonic acid) fruits ripened faster (two days earlier than controls), and they also showed a higher ethylene peak and higher expression levels of both ethylene precursors genes and carotenoid biosynthesis genes, than control fruits. In contrast, papaya fruits treated with an ethylene inhibitor (1-MCP; 300 nL L− 1 of 1-methylcyclopropene) never ripened (in fact they did not show changes in fruit firmness, °Brix, pH or acidity), and they showed very low ethylene production and low expression levels of ethylene precursors genes, as well as showing low expression of carotenogenic genes, throughout the postharvest ripening process. Correlation analysis showed that increased ethylene production was highly correlated with increased expression of both ethylene precursors genes and carotenoids biosynthesis genes, but the specific carotenogenic genes induced by ethylene differed among commercial and creole papaya genotypes.
Key message
During postharvest ripening of papaya fruits, the expression of genes involved in carotenoid biosynthesis appears to be regulated by signals from ethylene, but the specific carotenogenic genes induced by ethylene, differed among creole and commercial papaya genotypes.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Luis Felipe Barahona Pérez for his support and early advice on the analysis and quantification of ethylene.
Funding
This work was funded by CONACYT, México (Project No. CB-221208). AC-L received a scholarship (362319) from CONACYT, during her PhD studies.
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Chan-León, performed the experimental strategy, carried out the experiments and drafted the manuscript. Estrella-Maldonado, responsible of qRT-PCR analysis and drafted the manuscript. Fuentes-Ortiz, assisted in the collection of plant material and drafted and reviewed the manuscript. Torres and Peraza, responsible for the quantification of ethylene by gas chromatography. Santamaría J.M, corresponding author. General conception of the project, responsible of the experimental strategy and responsible for the writing of manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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13580_2023_568_MOESM1_ESM.png
Supplementary Figure S1. Values for “a”, “b” and “L” for fruits from three different C. papaya genotypes; red (RG) (a, b, c), orange (OG) (d, e, f) and yellow genotype (YG) (g, h, i). Ripened under 3 different conditions; control fruits (ripened naturally), fruits exposed to ethylene inducer (Ethephon) and those exposed to the ethylene inhibitor (1-MCP inhibitor), measured at day 0 and after 10 days of postharvest ripening.
13580_2023_568_MOESM2_ESM.jpg
Supplementary Figure S2. Correlation analyses (r2) between firmness and expression levels (REL) of ethylene precursor´s genes: CpACCs1 (a, e, i), CpACCs2 (b, f, j), CpACCo1 (c, g, k), CpACCo2 (d, h, l), found in pulps from three C. papaya genotypes (RG, OG, YG), under two different treatments (Control, Ethephon), measured at: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 days of postharvest ripening.
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Chan-León, A.C., Estrella-Maldonado, H., Fuentes-Ortiz, G. et al. Ethylene-driven expression of genes involved in carotenoid biosynthesis during postharvest ripening is different in creole and commercial Carica papaya L. fruits. Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. 65, 251–270 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-023-00568-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-023-00568-1