Free Sulfhydryl Groups in Ripening Fruits

概要

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Ripening was found to be accompanied by an increase in sulfhydryl (SH) group content in several fruits. In ripening, climacteric, tomato fruits, this increase was due mostly to an increase in the glutathione level. In orange, a non-climacteric fruit, the relatively high SH levels did not change during development and maturation. Non-ripening tomato mutants, e.g., rin and nor, were characterized by low and constant SH levels during fruit growth and senescence. Ripening-inducing storage conditions, such as high temperature (30℃) and ethylene treatment, concomitantly hastened the increase in SH level in fast-ripening tomato varieties. Storage conditions that slowed down the ripening process, such as low temperatures (2, 12℃) and low oxygen levels (5%), slowed down the increase in SH content. Storage of red tomatoes at 30℃ caused an increase in the SH content in comparison with lower temperature treatments (2, 12, 20℃). SH compounds (reduced glutathione, cysteine), dithiothreitol and an SH-binding compound (n-ethylmaleimide), did not affect the ripening process of green tomatoes. The results suggest that the increase in SH groups accompanies the ripening processes rather than regulating them.
日本植物生理学会の論文