Abstract
Fatty acid compositions of peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) mesocarp tissues from ‘Kawanakajima Hakuto’ and its firm-fleshed mutant ‘Shuangjiuhong’ were examined by gas chromatography during the developmental stages from 20 days before to 20 days after fruit ripening. Fruits were harvested at 4-day intervals from July to September. The predominant fatty acids were linoleic, palmitic and linolenic acids with 27.66–48.93 %, 23.59–31.65 %, and 12.08–28.35 % in ‘Shuangjiuhong’, and 32.64–42.79 %, 23.53–28.95 %, 16.14–39.15 % in ‘Kawanakajima Hakuto’, respectively. Saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic acids) remained relatively constant throughout the ripeness period. On the contrast, from 15 days before ripening, notable decline in oleic acid and increase of linoleic and linolenic acids were observed in both cultivars. In addition, from 10 days before ripening, much lower levels of oleic and linolenic acids and higher proportion of linoleic acid were observed in ‘Shuangjiuhong’ than those found in ‘Kawanakajima Hakuto’. And notably higher SFA level, lower levels of UFA and IUFA in the firm-fleshed peach were investigated during those stages. Correlation analysis showed that oleic acid and SFA had very significantly positive, whereas linolenic acid, UFA and IUFA had significantly negative correlation with fruit firmness. These results above suggest that lower levels of oleic and linolenic acids, UFA and IUFA, and higher linoleic acid and SFA content represent fruits with firmer flesh and help to retain the fruit texture.
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This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, 30900976) and by Research Program of Science and Technology of the Higher Education Institutions of Shandong Province, China (J12LF06).
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Communicated by P. K. Nagar.
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Duan, Y., Dong, X., Liu, B. et al. Relationship of changes in the fatty acid compositions and fruit softening in peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch). Acta Physiol Plant 35, 707–713 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-012-1111-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-012-1111-y