Involvement of energy and cell wall metabolisms in chilling tolerance improved by hydrogen sulfide in cold-stored tomato fruits.

Abstract

Key message: Hydrogen sulfide improved cold resistance of tomato fruits by regulating energy metabolism and delaying cell wall degradation, thereby alleviating the damage of cold storage on fruits. Postharvest cold storage in tomato fruits extended shelf life but caused the appearance of chilling injury (CI), appeared by softness and spots on the surface of the fruits. These changes were linked closely with energy and cell wall metabolisms. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), as the gaseous fresh-keeping regulator, was used in the present study to investigate the effects of H₂S on energy and cell wall metabolisms in tomato fruits during cold storage. Fruits after harvest were fumigated with different concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 mM) of sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) solution as H₂S honor for 24 h and stored at 4 °C for 25 days. The results showed that 1 and 1.5 mM NaHS solution fumigation promoted the accumulation of endogenous H₂S, followed by the increase in _L-cysteine desulfurase (LCD) and _D-cysteine desulfurase (DCD) activities in fruits during cold storage. It was also found that 1 and 1.5 mM NaHS treatments improved H⁺-ATPase, Ca²⁺-ATPase, cytochrome C oxidase (CCO), and succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) activities. Moreover, the contents of cellulose and hemicellulose were increased by 1 and 1.5 mM NaHS, following down-regulated activities of cellulase (CL), pectin lyase (PL), α-mannosidase (α-man) and β-Galactosidase (β-Gal) and down-regulated expression of PL1, PL8, MAN4 and MAN7 genes. Thus, H₂S alleviates CI led by cold storage in tomato fruits via regulating energy and cell wall metabolisms.