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Nitric Oxide and Postharvest Stress of Fruits, Vegetables and Ornamentals

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Nitric Oxide Action in Abiotic Stress Responses in Plants

Abstract

Horticultural produce is impacted by a range of abiotic stresses during storage and marketing that accelerate ripening and senescence and thus reduce shelf life. Exogenous application of nitric oxide (NO) by gas fumigation or dipping in a solution of NO-donor compound has been demonstrated to alleviate some of the effects of abiotic stress on a wide range of produce. A key reported beneficial effect of NO treatment is to reduce the production of ethylene. Other reported beneficial effects of NO treatment include a reduced rate of respiration and reduced ion leakage resulting from better maintenance of cellular integrity; reduction in oxidative stress through reduced lipid oxidation and enhanced activity of a range of antioxidant enzymes which have been implicated in defence mechanisms; inhibition of polyphenol oxidase activity associated with reduced internal and surface browning; and alleviation of chilling injury potentially through enhancing the natural antioxidant defence systems which could include endogenous NO. Postharvest application of NO is a potential new technology to reduce losses of horticultural produce during handling and marketing.

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Acknowledgments

The late Ya’acovLeshem was an imaginative biologist who thought beyond his discipline. He had an enthusiasm for seeing different applications for emerging concepts in other disciplines and was not averse to standing alone until his ideas were vindicated. The authors were beneficiaries of Leshem’s willingness to share his ideas and to collaborate with those who were prepared to explore his vision.

We thank Dr M.C. Bowyer, University of Newcastle, for helpful discussions on the chemistry of NO and associated compounds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, NSW, 2258, Australia

    R. B. H. Wills, P. Pristijono & J. B. Golding

  2. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Ourimbah, NSW, 2258, Australia

    J. B. Golding

Authors
  1. R. B. H. Wills
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  2. P. Pristijono
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  3. J. B. Golding
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. B. H. Wills .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

    M. Nasir Khan

  2. Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

    Mohammad Mobin

  3. Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India

    Firoz Mohammad

  4. Departamento de Bioquímica Biol. Cellular y Molecular de Plantas, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Granada, Spain

    Francisco J. Corpas

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Wills, R.B.H., Pristijono, P., Golding, J.B. (2015). Nitric Oxide and Postharvest Stress of Fruits, Vegetables and Ornamentals. In: Khan, M., Mobin, M., Mohammad, F., Corpas, F. (eds) Nitric Oxide Action in Abiotic Stress Responses in Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17804-2_14

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