Pinnapat Pinsorn. Identification of genes and metabolites involved in Durian Durio zibethinus fruit ripening. Master's Degree(Biochemistry and Molecular Biology). Chulalongkorn University. Office of Academic Resources. : Chulalongkorn University, 2018.
Identification of genes and metabolites involved in Durian Durio zibethinus fruit ripening
Abstract:
Durian (Durio zibethinus M.), a major economic fruit, actively produces infamous sulfur-containing compounds during ripening. However, sulfur metabolism which is important in this fruit is rarely investigated. In this study, the integration of metabolomics using CE-TOF/MS and transcriptomics using de novo RNA-seq assembly was performed to reveal metabolic changes involved in sulfur metabolism and chemical composition related to fruit quality. During ripening, the expression level of genes involved in sulfur metabolism is concurred with the reduced sulfate ion content in placenta and the up-accumulation of sulfur metabolism-related metabolites in pulps. It is noteworthy that durian pulps highly accumulate γ-glutamylcysteine (γ-EC) and glutathione as powerful antioxidants. According to real-time RT-qPCR analysis of genes involved in γ-glutamyl cycle during ripening, γ-EC was proposed to be a sulfur storage form in durian pulps. In addition, accumulation levels of cysteine and leucine, and expression levels of genes encoding polygalacturonase and ACC oxidase contributed to the differences between Mon Thong and Chanee cultivars were proposed. These findings provide valuable information as the first step to be exploited for durian fruit quality improvement through molecular breeding.