Effects of trans-2-hexenal and cis-3-hexenal on post-harvest strawberry

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 10112 - 10
• Main Authors: Wakai, Junko, Kusama, Shoko, Nakajima, Kosuke, Kawai, Shikiho, Okumura, Yasuaki, Shiojiri, Kaori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12-07-2019; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 101/58; 38/39; 38/90; 38/91; 631/449/1736; 631/449/1741/2671; 631/449/2661/2665; Acetic acid; Aldehydes - pharmacology; Allelochemicals; Antifungal activity; Antifungal Agents - pharmacology; Botrytis - drug effects; Botrytis - growth & development; Botrytis - pathogenicity; Cyclopentanes - analysis; Food Microbiology; Fragaria; Fragaria - drug effects; Fragaria - genetics; Fragaria - microbiology; Fruit - drug effects; Fruit - genetics; Fruit - microbiology; Fruits; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - drug effects; Humanities and Social Sciences; Jasmonic acid; Metabolites; multidisciplinary; Oxylipins - analysis; Photosynthesis; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Volatile Organic Compounds - analysis; Volatiles
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46307-4

Green leaf volatiles are emitted by green plants and induce defence responses. Those with antifungal activities in plants may replace chemicals as natural post-harvest treatments. We investigated the postharvest treatment of strawberry with
trans
-2-hexenal and
cis
-3-hexenal and observed a decrease in the mould infection rate. To determine the volatiles’ functions, we conducted a component analysis of the volatiles released from
trans
-2-hexenal-treated strawberry and analysed gene expression. Several acetates, which were expected to be metabolites of
trans
-2-hexenal in fruit, were released from treated strawberry; however, these acetates did not inhibit fungal growth. The gene expression analysis suggested that postharvest strawberries were not protected by jasmonic acid-mediated signalling but by another stress-related protein. Harvested strawberries experience stress induced by harvest-related injuries and are unable to perform photosynthesis, which might result in different responses than in normal plants.