Integrated transcriptomics, metabolomics and physiological analyses reveal the regulatory mechanisms of ABA and MeJA treatments on quality deterioration of wounded kiwifruit fruits

Abscisic acid (ABA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) play a crucial role in promoting the wound healing of postharvest fruit induced by mechanical damage. In this study, we comprehensively assessed the mechanism of inhibition of the development of quality deterioration in wounded kiwifruit fruits by 0.5 mM MeJA and ABA treatments at the transcriptional, metabolic, and physiological levels. The results revealed that the ABA- and MeJA -treated fruit exhibited significantly increased L* value and firmness, while demonstrating decreased weight loss rate, soluble solids content, and electrolyte leakage rate, along with delayed Botrytis cinerea infection. Transcriptomic and metabolomic data indicated that ABA and MeJA primarily promoted the lignin biosynthesis pathway, suberin biosynthesis pathway, and flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, while suppressed the reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism pathway and cell wall degradation pathway, in terms of related gene expression and metabolite profile, and the reliability of the transcriptomic data was validated by RT-qPCR experiments. Correlation analysis confirmed predominantly positive correlations among genes, metabolites, and phenotypes. This study confirmed that ABA and MeJA promote wound healing through synergistic actions across multiple pathways, providing theoretical support for research on the physiological and biochemical mechanisms and related key genes underlying ABA- and MeJA-promoted wound healing in kiwifruit.