Roles of Flavonoid Compounds in Determining the Shelf Life of Tomato Fruit

Zhang, Yang (2013) Roles of Flavonoid Compounds in Determining the Shelf Life of Tomato Fruit. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the role of flavonoid compounds in determining the shelf life of
tomato fruit. Shelf life is one of the most important traits for tomato industry. Although
there are many approaches to enhance the post-harvest performance of tomato fruit,
most of them would have side effects such as reducing fruit quality.
My work showed that accumulation of anthocyanins in tomato fruit by over expressing
Delila and Rosea 1, two transcriptional factors from Antirrhinum majus, can extend
tomato shelf life significantly. Compared to WT tomato fruit, the anthocyanin-enriched
purple fruit have double the shelf life including delayed over-ripening and reduced
susceptibility to the fungal pathogen, Botrytis cinerea. My data indicate that the delayed
over-ripening is associated with the high antioxidant capacity of purple tomato and the
reduced susceptibility to B. cinerea is due to the high scavenging ability of
anthocyanins.
Using Aft/Aft atv/atv, a conventionally bred tomato variety which accumulates
anthoycanin predominantly in the skin, I showed that accumulation of anthocyanins in
tomato skin can be sufficient to extend fruit shelf life. The scientific findings from
transgenic crop studies can provide new strategies for conventional breeding improved
fruit quality.
My research also revealed that, as a general principle, flavonoids extend tomato shelf
life. For ripening and over-ripening, increasing total antioxidant capacity by
accumulating flavonoids of different types can delay these processes. To reduce
susceptibility to B. cinerea, however, the effects of different flavonoids depend on their
scavenging abilities, which are determined by their molecular structures. Taken together
these findings demonstrate that increasing total antioxidant capacity by accumulating
different flavonoid compounds offers a general strategy to delay over-ripening of
tomato fruit. However, to reduce susceptibility to B. cinerea, flavonoid compounds with
high scavenging activity should be used.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
Depositing User:	Users 2259 not found.
Date Deposited:	12 Mar 2014 08:58
Last Modified:	12 Mar 2014 08:58
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/48096
DOI:

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