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Stone cell formation in the pedicel of pears and apples

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Abstract

Main Conclusion

For the first time, stone cells in pear and apple pedicel were studied. The lignification of the pedicel outer part was correlated with flesh, and the secondary cell wall biosynthesis genes were activated.

Abstract

Fruit pedicels act as bridges between the fruit and the shoot. They have secondary thickened cell walls that presumably function in mechanical support, water and nutrient transport. Stone cells are cells with a secondary cell wall thickening. In pears, yet not in apples, the stone cells affect the flesh texture. There have been few reports on stone cell formation in pear and apple pedicels; therefore, we studied these cells for the first time. The apple pedicel had few stone cells in the cortex. The formation of stone cells in pear continued until seven weeks after flowering (WAF), and the density was significantly higher than in apple. The stone cell formation degree (SFD) of pear was 3.6–7.1 times higher than that of apple. Total lignin and lignin non-condensed structure (G and S units) content in the pear pedicle outer part was 1.5–2.7 times higher than that of the apple at harvest. The SFD of the pedicel outer part had a positive correlation with the G and S units content of the flesh. The total lignin and G and S units content between flesh and the pedicel outer part were positively correlated. Correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between fruit and pedicel formation of the stone cells. The WGCNA showed that NST3 was linked to NAC028, MYB46, CESA, POD, LAC, and VSR6. These genes were highly expressed in the outer part of the pear pedicel, while they were suppressed in that issue of the apple at 4 WAF.

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Data and material availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

ARF:

Auxin response factor

CESA:

Cellulose synthase A catalytic subunit

G-lignin:

Guaiacyl lignin

LAC:

Laccase

NST:

NAC secondary wall thickening promoting factor

PLD:

Pedicel lignification degree

S-lignin:

Syringyl lignin

SFD:

Stone cell formation degree

TF:

Transcription factor

WAF:

Weeks after flowering

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by grants-in-aid from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (no.16H04874 and no. 20H02979). We would like to thank Editage (http://www.editage.com) for English language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tropical Eco-Agriculture Research Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nancheng Street 150, Yuanmou, 651300, Yunnan, China

    Lumin Zhang

  2. Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 6, Higashi 1–1–1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305–8566, Japan

    Lumin Zhang, Shingo Sakamoto & Nobutaka Mitsuda

  3. Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kitaina-Yazuma Oji 74, Seika-Cho, Soraku-Gun, Kyoto, 619–0244, Japan

    Lumin Zhang, Takuya Morimoto & Akihiro Itai

  4. Division of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-Cho, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, 606–8502, Japan

    Hiroshi Kamitakahara & Toshiyuki Takano

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  1. Lumin Zhang
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Contributions

L.Z. performed the experiments. H.K. and T.T. provided facilities for lignin analysis. L.Z., S.S., N.M., and A.I. analyzed the data. L.Z. and A.I. wrote the manuscript. A.I. conceived the experiments. A.I. and L.Z. designed the experiments. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Akihiro Itai.

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Zhang, L., Kamitakahara, H., Takano, T. et al. Stone cell formation in the pedicel of pears and apples. Planta 258, 85 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-023-04240-x

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