Fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin

Fruit softening is a major determinant of shelf life and commercial value. Here, we highlight recent work that revisits the role of pectin in fruit softening and primary cell wall structure. These studies demonstrate the importance of pectin and the link between its degradation and softening in fles...

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Main Authors: Wang, Duoduo, Yeats, Trevor H., Uluisik, Selman, Rose, Jocelyn K.C., Seymour, Graham B.
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49752/
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author Wang, Duoduo
Yeats, Trevor H.
Uluisik, Selman
Rose, Jocelyn K.C.
Seymour, Graham B.
author_facet Wang, Duoduo
Yeats, Trevor H.
Uluisik, Selman
Rose, Jocelyn K.C.
Seymour, Graham B.
author_sort Wang, Duoduo
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Fruit softening is a major determinant of shelf life and commercial value. Here, we highlight recent work that revisits the role of pectin in fruit softening and primary cell wall structure. These studies demonstrate the importance of pectin and the link between its degradation and softening in fleshy fruits. Fruit softening, which is a major determinant of shelf life and commercial value, is the consequence of multiple cellular processes, including extensive remodeling of cell wall structure. Recently, it has been shown that pectate lyase (PL), an enzyme that degrades de-esterified pectin in the primary wall, is a major contributing factor to tomato fruit softening. Studies of pectin structure, distribution, and dynamics have indicated that pectins are more tightly integrated with cellulose microfibrils than previously thought and have novel structural features, including branches of the main polymer backbone. Moreover, recent studies of the significance of pectinases, such as PL and polygalacturonase, are consistent with a causal relationship between pectin degradation and a major effect on fruit softening.
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spelling nottingham-497522020-05-04T19:31:18Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49752/ Fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin Wang, Duoduo Yeats, Trevor H. Uluisik, Selman Rose, Jocelyn K.C. Seymour, Graham B. Fruit softening is a major determinant of shelf life and commercial value. Here, we highlight recent work that revisits the role of pectin in fruit softening and primary cell wall structure. These studies demonstrate the importance of pectin and the link between its degradation and softening in fleshy fruits. Fruit softening, which is a major determinant of shelf life and commercial value, is the consequence of multiple cellular processes, including extensive remodeling of cell wall structure. Recently, it has been shown that pectate lyase (PL), an enzyme that degrades de-esterified pectin in the primary wall, is a major contributing factor to tomato fruit softening. Studies of pectin structure, distribution, and dynamics have indicated that pectins are more tightly integrated with cellulose microfibrils than previously thought and have novel structural features, including branches of the main polymer backbone. Moreover, recent studies of the significance of pectinases, such as PL and polygalacturonase, are consistent with a causal relationship between pectin degradation and a major effect on fruit softening. Elsevier 2018-02-08 Article PeerReviewed Wang, Duoduo, Yeats, Trevor H., Uluisik, Selman, Rose, Jocelyn K.C. and Seymour, Graham B. (2018) Fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin. Trends in Plant Science . ISSN 1878-4372 (In Press) Fruit; Softening; Tomato; Cell Wall; Pectin http://www.cell.com/trends/plant-science/fulltext/S1360-1385(18)30018-9 doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2018.01.006 doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2018.01.006
spellingShingle Fruit; Softening; Tomato; Cell Wall; Pectin
Wang, Duoduo
Yeats, Trevor H.
Uluisik, Selman
Rose, Jocelyn K.C.
Seymour, Graham B.
Fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin
title Fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin
title_full Fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin
title_fullStr Fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin
title_full_unstemmed Fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin
title_short Fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin
title_sort fruit softening: revisiting the role of pectin
topic Fruit; Softening; Tomato; Cell Wall; Pectin
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49752/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49752/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49752/