PpZAT12 expression in peach fruit: a transcription factor with a role against chilling injury

GISMONDI, M.; GABILONDO, J.; BUDDE, C.; LARA, M.V.; DRINCOVICH, M.F.; BUSTAMANTE, C.

Rosario

Congreso; L Reunión de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular; 2014

Harvested peaches [Prunus persica L. Batsch] deteriorate quickly at ambient temperature. Refrigeration is therefore used to prevent the rapid fruit decay and to extend fruit shelf life. However, cold storage can generate physiological disorders collectively termed ?chilling injury? (CI). Heat treatment prior to cold storage has been proved to be an efficient post-harvest technology given that it prevents or alleviates CI symptoms while maintaining organoleptic quality. To address the molecular mechanisms associated to CI, our group has characterized the differential transcriptome and proteome of peaches cv. Dixiland subjected to HT. One of the HT-induced transcripts was PpZAT12 which encodes a C2H2 zinc finger protein. RT-qPCR analysis confirmed that PpZAT12 transcriptional levels are induced by HT and short-term refrigeration. Moreover, 21-days-refrigerated samples from different cultivars with contrasting susceptibility to CI showed distinct transcript accumulation patterns. PpZAT12 promoter analysis reveals the presence of classic hormone- and stress-response cis-acting elements. We also aimed to define PpZAT12 targets in peaches based on transcriptomic information from ZAT12-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants which had augmented freezing tolerance. These results point that PpZAT12 could have a function against CI and may contribute to HT effectiveness in countering CI symptoms.