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Regulatory control of carotenoid accumulation in winter squash during storage

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Abstract

Main conclusion

Storage promotes carotenoid accumulation and converts amylochromoplasts into chromoplasts in winter squash. Such carotenoid enhancement is likely due to continuous biosynthesis along with reduced turnover and/or enhanced sequestration.

Postharvest storage of fruits and vegetables is often required and frequently results in nutritional quality change. In this study, we investigated carotenoid storage plastids, carotenoid content, and its regulation during 3-month storage of winter squash butternut fruits. We showed that storage improved visual appearance of fruit flesh color from light to dark orange, and promoted continuous accumulation of carotenoids during the first 2-month storage. Such an increased carotenoid accumulation was found to be concomitant with starch breakdown, resulting in the conversion of amylochromoplasts into chromoplasts. The butternut fruits contained predominantly β-carotene, lutein, and violaxanthin. Increased ratios of β-carotene and violaxanthin to total carotenoids were noticed during the storage. Analysis of carotenoid metabolic gene expression and PSY protein level revealed a decreased expression of carotenogenic genes and PSY protein following the storage, indicating that the increased carotenoid level might not be due to increased biosynthesis. Instead, the increase likely resulted from a continuous biosynthesis with a possibly reduced turnover and/or enhanced sequestration, suggesting a complex regulation of carotenoid accumulation during fruit storage. This study provides important information to our understanding of carotenogenesis and its regulation during postharvest storage of fruits.

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Abbreviations

GGPP:

Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate

PSY:

Phytoene synthase

PDS:

Phytoene desaturase

ZDS:

ζ-Carotene desaturase

CRTISO:

Carotenoid isomerase

LCYb:

Lycopene β-cyclase

LCYe:

Lycopene ε-cyclase

CHYb:

Carotenoid β-hydroxylase

ZEP:

Zeaxanthin epoxidase

CCD:

Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase

NCED:

9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase

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Acknowledgments

We thank the members in the Li lab for their help and suggestions to this work. We acknowledge the support of China Scholarship Council (20120635008) to MKZ and MPZ and the United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund to LL and YT (US-4423-11).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Ming Ke Zhang

  2. College of Life Science, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen, 041004, Shanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Mei Ping Zhang

  3. Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, USDA-ARS, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Ming Ke Zhang, Mei Ping Zhang & Li Li

  4. Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Ming Ke Zhang, Mei Ping Zhang, Michael Mazourek & Li Li

  5. Newe Ya’ar Research Center, ARO, PO Box 1021, 30095, Ramat Yishay, Israel

    Yaakov Tadmor

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  1. Ming Ke Zhang
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  2. Mei Ping Zhang
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  3. Michael Mazourek
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  4. Yaakov Tadmor
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  5. Li Li
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Correspondence to Li Li.

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M. K. Zhang and M. P. Zhang contributed equally to this work.

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Zhang, M.K., Zhang, M.P., Mazourek, M. et al. Regulatory control of carotenoid accumulation in winter squash during storage. Planta 240, 1063–1074 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-014-2147-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-014-2147-6

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