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Effects of Exogenous Application of Melatonin on Quality and Sugar Metabolism in ‘Zaosu’ Pear Fruit

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Abstract

Melatonin (MT) modulates a wide range of physiological functions with pleiotropic effects in plants. In this study, we studied the effect of exogenous applications of MT to pear trees on indicators of pear fruit quality. The results showed that MT increased the size of pear fruit by improving the net photosynthetic rate and maximal quantum efficiency of photosystem II photochemistry during the late stage of pear fruit development. Overall, MT increased fruit weight by 47.85% compared to the control. During the period of fruit maturation, MT increased the content of soluble sugars, particularly sucrose and sorbitol, likely as a result of improved starch accumulation. Expression levels of the invertase gene Pbinvertase 1/2 were lower in MT-treated fruit that resulted in lower enzyme activity, whereas activity of sucrose phosphate synthase was greater due to enhanced levels of expression of PbSPS1/2/3. Thus, application of melatonin improved sucrose content. This study shows that the application of MT to pear trees may be utilized for the production of larger and sweeter fruit of higher economic value.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-28-45) and Weinan Experimental Station foundation of Northwest A&F University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Taicheng Road NO.3, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China

    Jianlong Liu, Rongrong Yue, Min Si, Meng Wu, Liu Cong, Rui Zhai, Chengquan Yang, Zhigang Wang, Fengwang Ma & Lingfei Xu

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  1. Jianlong Liu
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  2. Rongrong Yue
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  3. Min Si
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Correspondence to Lingfei Xu.

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Liu, J., Yue, R., Si, M. et al. Effects of Exogenous Application of Melatonin on Quality and Sugar Metabolism in ‘Zaosu’ Pear Fruit. J Plant Growth Regul 38, 1161–1169 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-019-09921-0

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