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Distribution of the anionic sites in the cell wall of apple fruit after calcium treatment

Quantitation and visualization by a cationic colloidal gold probe

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Summary

The ripening and softening of fleshy fruits involves biochemical changes in the cell wall. These changes reduce cell wall strength and lead to cell separation and the formation of intercellular spaces. Calcium, a constituent of the cell wall, plays an important role in interacting with pectic acid polymers to form cross-bridges that influence cell wall strength. In the present study, cationic colloidal gold was used for light and electron microscopic examinations to determine whether the frequency and distribution of anionic binding sites in the walls of parenchyma cells in the apple were influenced by calcium, which was pressure infiltrated into mature fruits. Controls were designed to determine the specificity of this method for in muro labelling of the anionic sites on the pectin polymers. The results indicate that two areas of the cell wall were transformed by the calcium treatment: the primary cell walls on either side of the middle lamella and the middle lamella intersects that delineate the intercellular spaces. The data suggest that calcium ions reduce fruit softening by strengthening the cell walls, thereby preventing cell separation that results in formation of intercellular spaces.

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Abbreviations

EDTA:

ethylenediaminotetraacetic acid

PATAg:

periodic acid-thiocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Horticultural Crops Quality Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland

    S. Roy, W. S. Conway & A. E. Watada

  2. Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee

    C. E. Sams

  3. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Electron Microscopy Laboratory, BARC-East, Building 177B, 20705-2350, Beltsville, MD, USA

    S. Roy, C. D. Pooley & W. P. Wergin

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  1. S. Roy
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  2. W. S. Conway
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  3. A. E. Watada
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  4. C. E. Sams
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  5. C. D. Pooley
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  6. W. P. Wergin
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Roy, S., Conway, W.S., Watada, A.E. et al. Distribution of the anionic sites in the cell wall of apple fruit after calcium treatment. Protoplasma 178, 156–167 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01545965

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