Melatonin maintains the storage quality of fresh-cut Chinese water chestnuts by regulating phenolic and reactive oxygen species metabolism

Fresh-cut Chinese water chestnuts(CWCs)are prone to quality deterioration during storage,which does not meet consumer demand.In this study,the effect of exogenous melatonin(5 mmol·L^(-1))on the quality and potential mechanisms in fresh-cut CWC was investigated.The results showed that melatonin treatment alleviated the cut-surface discoloration of CWCs.Not only did this treatment significantly slow down the in-crease in browning degree and yellowness(b*)as well as the decrease in lightness(L*),but it also significantly delayed the loss of weight and total soluble solids.Further investigations indicated that melatonin-treated fresh-cut CWCs exhibited significantly lower total phenolics and soluble quinones and suppressed the activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase,polyphenol oxidase,and peroxidase.Meanwhile,when fresh-cut CWCs were treated with melatonin,the total flavonoid concentration was significantly decreased compared to the control.Ad ditionally,melatonin significantly inhibited the accumulation of H_(2)O_(2)and malondialdehyde as well as enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase by promoting the production of O_(2)^(-·).In summary,melatonin treatment may delay the surface discoloration of fresh-cut CWCs by inhibiting phenolic compound metabolism and improving antioxidant capacity,thereby effectively maintaining the quality and prolonging the shelf life of fresh-cut CWCs.

Phenolic metabolism and molecular mass distribution of polysaccharides in cellulose-deficient maize cells

As a consequence of the habituation to low levels of dichlobenil （DCB）, cultured maize cells presented an altered hemicellulose cell fate with a lower proportion of strongly wall-bound hemicelluloses and an increase in soluble extracellular polymers released into the culture medium. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative molecular mass distributions of polysaccharides as well as phenolic metabolism in cells habituated to low levels of DCB （1.5 μM）. Generally, cell wall bound hemicelluloses and sloughed polymers from habituated cells were more homogeneously sized and had a lower weight-average relative molecular mass. In addition, polysaccharides underwent massive cross-linking after being secreted into the cell wall, but this cross-linking was less pronounced in habituated cells than in non-habituated ones. However, when relativized, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid contents were higher in this habituated cell line. Feasibly, cells habituated to low levels of DCB synthesized molecules with a lower weight-average relative molecular mass, although cross-linked, as a part of their strategy to compensate for the lack of cellulose.

Accumulation of Flavonoids in an ntra ntrb Mutant Leads to Tolerance to UV-C

NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductases （NTRs） are key regulatory enzymes determining the redox state of thioredoxins. There are two genes encoding NTRs （NTRA and NTRB） in the Arabidopsis genome, each encoding a cytosolic and a mitochondrial isoform. A double ntra ntrb mutant has recently been characterized and shows slower plant growth, slightly wrinkled seeds and a remarkable hypersensitivity to buthionine sulfoximine （BSO）, a specific inhibitor of gluta- thione biosynthesis. In this paper, we demonstrate that this mutant also accumulates higher level of flavonoids. Analysis of transcriptome data showed that several genes of the flavonoid pathway are overexpressed in the ntra ntrb mutant. Accumulation of flavonoids is generally considered a hallmark of plant stress. Nevertheless, no elevation of the expression of genes encoding ROS-detoxification enzymes was observed, suggesting that the ntra ntrb plants do not suffer from oxidative disease. Another hypothesis suggests that flavonoids are specifically synthesized in the ntra ntrb mutant in order to rescue the inactivation of NTR. To test this, the ntra ntrb mutant was crossed with transparent testa 4 （tt4） plants with a mutation in the gene encoding the first enzyme in flavonoid biosynthesis. As ntra ntrb plants are more resistant to UV-C treatment than wild-type plants, this higher resistance was abolished in the ntra ntrb tt4 mutant, suggesting that accumulation of flavonoids in the ntra ntrb mutant protects plants against UV-light.