Transcriptome Analysis of Soursop (Annona muricata L.) Fruit under Postharvest Storage Identifies Genes Families Involved in Ripening

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 14; p. 1798
• Main Authors: Palomino-Hermosillo, Yolotzin Apatzingan, Berumen-Varela, Guillermo, Ochoa-Jiménez, Verónica Alhelí, Balois-Morales, Rosendo, Jiménez-Zurita, José Orlando, Bautista-Rosales, Pedro Ulises, Martínez-González, Mónica Elizabeth, López-Guzmán, Graciela Guadalupe, Cortés-Cruz, Moisés Alberto, Guzmán, Luis Felipe, Cornejo-Granados, Fernanda, Gallardo-Becerra, Luigui, Ochoa-Leyva, Adrian, Alia-Tejacal, Iran
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 07-07-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Annona muricata; Annotations; Biological activity; Biosynthesis; Catalytic activity; Clustering; de novo assembly; differential gene expression; Enzymes; Fruits; functional annotation; Gene expression; Gene families; Genes; Information processing; Information storage; MAP kinase; Metabolism; Metabolites; Network analysis; Pectin; Pectinesterase; plant cell wall; Proteins; refrigeration; Ripening; Secondary metabolites; Shelf life; Signal processing; Signal transduction; Storage conditions; Sucrose; Transcriptomes; Mexico
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants11141798

Soursop (Annona muricata L.) is climacteric fruit with a short ripening period and postharvest shelf life, leading to a rapid softening. In this study, transcriptome analysis of soursop fruits was performed to identify key gene families involved in ripening under postharvest storage conditions (Day 0, Day 3 stored at 28 ± 2 °C, Day 6 at 28 ± 2 °C, Day 3 at 15 ± 2 °C, Day 6 at 15 ± 2 °C, Day 9 at 15 ± 2 °C). The transcriptome analysis showed 224,074 transcripts assembled clustering into 95, 832 unigenes, of which 21, 494 had ORF. RNA-seq analysis showed the highest number of differentially expressed genes on Day 9 at 15 ± 2 °C with 9291 genes (4772 up-regulated and 4519 down-regulated), recording the highest logarithmic fold change in pectin-related genes. Enrichment analysis presented significantly represented GO terms and KEGG pathways associated with molecular function, metabolic process, catalytic activity, biological process terms, as well as biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, plant hormone signal, starch, and sucrose metabolism, plant–pathogen interaction, plant–hormone signal transduction, and MAPK-signaling pathways, among others. Network analysis revealed that pectinesterase genes directly regulate the loss of firmness in fruits stored at 15 ± 2 °C.