Characterization of stone hardening during the peach fruit development

MULLER G. L.; BUSTAMANTE C. A.; DRINCOVICH M. F.; LARA M. V.; RODRÍGUEZ C. E.; BUDDE C. O.

Córdoba

Congreso; LII Reunión de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular; 2016

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB)

Lignification of peach (Prunus persica) fruit endocarp involves a strictly coordinated process, which consists of lignin biosynthesis, deposition in secondary cell wall and programmed cell death. Peach stones accumulate extremely high lignin contents relative to other woody tissues. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms and regulations involved in lignin synthesis and the formation of stone could have important implications for forestry, forage and bioenergy crops.In the present work, total phenolic compounds, flavonoids and anthocyanins were quantified in different tissues (endocarp, mesocarp and exocarp) of the fruit during its development (from 10 to 100 days after bloom) with the aim of evaluating the flow of these metabolites through the phenylpropanoid pathway. A sharp drop in the levels of phenolic compounds and flavonoids in endocarp in the earliest stages of development was observed. On the other hand, anthocyanins were not detected.The concentration of free amino acids in the different tissues of the fruit were also determined by high performance liquid chromatography in apolar phase, in order to correlate them to the abrupt drop in total protein concentration recorded in the fruit during the early development. Interestingly, Asparagine is present in peaches at relatively high concentration in all stages and tissues analyzed.