Fruit softening: evidence for rhamnogalacturonan lyase action in vivo in ripe fruit cell walls.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

The softening of ripening fruit involves partial depolymerization of cell-wall pectin by three types of reaction: enzymic hydrolysis, enzymic elimination (lyase-catalysed) and non-enzymic oxidative scission. Two known lyase activities are pectate lyase and rhamnogalacturonan lyase (RGL), potentially causing mid-chain cleavage of homogalacturonan and rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) domains of pectin respectively. However, the important biological question of whether RGL exhibits action in vivo had not been tested.

Methods

We developed a method for specifically and sensitively detecting in-vivo RGL products, based on Driselase digestion of cell walls and detection of a characteristic unsaturated 'fingerprint' product (tetrasaccharide) of RGL action.

Key resu

SUBMITTER: Al-Hinai TZS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11037484 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature