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Elucidating the sugar import pathway into developing kiwifruit berries (Actinidia deliciosa)

Abstract
The aim of this work was to investigate the roles of the apoplasmic and symplasmic pathways in the delivery of solutes to the outer pericarp of developing green-fleshed kiwifruit berries (Actinidia deliciosa [A. Chev.] C. F. Liang et A. R. Ferguson var. deliciosa ‘Hayward’). Experiments with the symplasmic tracer 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (CF) showed symplasmic movement of dye during the initial rapid growth stage of the fruit, but as fruit growth slowed and starch content increased, a reduction in symplasmic spread of CF was observed (+126 DAA [days after anthesis]). Measurements of sugar uptake rates from the apoplasm were sufficient to account for the dry matter accumulation in growing fruit at each stage of fruit growth, and could potentially operate alongside a symplasmic pathway for post-phloem unloading of sugars during the rapid growth period. Energy requirements driving uptake from the apoplasm appear to depend on the sugar concentration gradients across the cell membrane throughout fruit development. Together, these data suggest: 1) the post-phloem symplasmic pathway is important during the fruit rapid growth stage, 2) the uptake of sugars from the apoplasm has a role in the transport of carbohydrates in the fruit, especially later in fruit development when the symplasmic pathway is reduced, and 3) apoplasmic sugar has an important role in the flow of water into the apoplasm of the fruit, providing a mechanism to maintain hydrostatic pressure gradients along the phloem supplying the fruit.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Gould, N., Morrison, D. R., Clearwater, M. J., Ong, S., Boldingh, H. L. & Minchin, P. E. H. (2013). Elucidating the sugar import pathway into developing kiwifruit berries (Actinidia deliciosa). New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, published online 29 July 2013.
Date
2013
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Degree
Supervisors
Rights
Publisher version