Chilling injury symptoms of ‘Hongyang’ kiwifruit.

<p>Representative pictures of ‘Hongyang’ kiwifruit after 90 days of cold storage followed by 5 days of shelf life at 20°C. (A) normal kiwifruit. (B) skin showing the brown symptom of CI (arrow). (C) normal flesh of kiwifruit. (D) flesh of kiwifruit showing the grainy symptom (arrow). (E) the cross-section of the normal flesh. (F) the cross-section of the flesh showing the grainy symptom (arrow). (G)the longitudinal section of the normal flesh. (H) the longitudinal section of the flesh showing the grainy symptom (arrow).</p

The principal components analysis in kiwifruit (latent value and cumulative contribution).

<p>The principal components analysis in kiwifruit (latent value and cumulative contribution).</p

Effects of exogenous Put treatment on firmness, SSC, and titratable acidity of ‘Hongyang’ kiwifruit during storage at 0°C.

<p>Effects of exogenous Put treatment on firmness, SSC, and titratable acidity of ‘Hongyang’ kiwifruit during storage at 0°C.</p

Effect of exogenous Put treatment on ethylene production rate of ‘Hongyang’ fruit.

<p>Kiwifruit were respectively immersed in 0 mM (control) and 2 mM putrescine (Put) for 10 min and then storage at 0°C and 90–95% relative humidity for 90 days. In storage time ‘+5’ denotes 5 days of shelf life at 20°C following storage at 0°C. Vertical bars represent standard error of means (n = 3). Asterisks show significant difference (<i>P <0</i>.<i>05</i>) for the samples between 2 mM Put treatment and control taken at the same time point.</p

Loading of principal components.

<p>Loading of principal components.</p

Role of Brassinosteroids in Persimmon (<i>Diospyros kaki</i> L.) Fruit Ripening

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are phytohormones that regulate numerous processes including fruit ripening. In this study, persimmon (<i>Diospyros kaki</i> L.) fruits were treated with 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) or brassinazole (Brz, a BR biosynthesis inhibitor) and then stored at ambient temperature. The results show that endogenous BR contents gradually increased during persimmon fruit ripening. EBR treatment significantly increased both the content of water-soluble pectin and the activities of polygalacturonase, pectate lyase, and endo-1,4-beta-glucanase but significantly reduced the content of acid-soluble pectin and cellulose, resulting in rapid fruit softening. The EBR treatment also promoted ethylene production and respiration rate. In contrast, Brz treatment delayed persimmon fruit ripening. qRT-PCR analysis showed that <i>DkPG1</i>, <i>DkPL1</i>, <i>DkPE2</i>, <i>DkEGase1</i>, <i>DkACO2</i>, <i>DkACS1</i>, and <i>DkACS2</i> were up-regulated (especially a 38-fold increase in <i>DkEGase1</i>) in the fruit of the EBR-treated group. These results suggest that BRs are involved in persimmon fruit ripening by influencing cell-wall-degrading enzymes and ethylene biosynthesis

Longevity of unpollinated and pollinated WT, <i>PhHD-Zip</i> silenced white flowers, and vector control flowers (<i>CHS</i> silenced white, PhHD-Zip/CHS purple).

<p>Longevity of attached flowers. Means±SD for 30 flowers (10 from each of three replicate plants). Different letters indicate significant differences using Duncan’s test, p<0.05.</p

Expression of senescence-related genes in D7 petunia flowers.

<p>Abundance of transcripts of genes associated with senescence were determined at D7 in purple control flowers (WT), in white flowers of plants inoculated with the <i>CHS</i>/TRV reporter construct (VW), and in white flowers of plant inoculated with the <i>PhHD-Zip</i>/<i>CHS</i>/TRV silencing construct. <b>A.</b> A representative gel image from semi-quantitative PCR of RNA isolated from corollas. 26S RNA: the internal control. Samples were analyzed after 33 cycles for ACS, after 30 cycles for other genes, and after 24 cycles for <i>26S RNA</i>, respectively. <b>B.</b> Relative expression levels of different genes (quantification of the gel pictures; error bars show SE of the means of three biological replicates; different letters denote significant differences using Duncan’s test at P<0.05).</p

Effect of silencing <i>PhHD-Zip</i> on ethylene production of petunia flowers.

<p>Ethylene production was measured at D7 for wild type (WT) and for silenced (white) flowers (PhHD-Zip W). (Asterisks denote statistical difference using Duncan’s test at P<0.05; n = 5, error bars denote SE of the means of five biological replicates).</p

Effect of silencing <i>PhHD-Zip</i> on longevity of petunia flowers.

<p>Photographs were taken on D0 and D8 of attached purple control flowers (WT), white (silenced) flowers of plants inoculated with the <i>CHS</i>/TRV reporter construct, and white (silenced) flowers of plants inoculated with the <i>PhHD-Zip</i>/<i>CHS</i>/TRV silencing construct.</p