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Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Variation in carbon content and size in developing fruit of Actinidia deliciosa genotypes

Simona Nardozza A H , Helen L. Boldingh B , Annette C. Richardson C , Guglielmo Costa D , Hinga Marsh E , Elspeth A. MacRae A F and Michael J. Clearwater E G
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Mt Albert Research Centre, Private Bag 92 169, Auckland, New Zealand.

B The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Ruakura Research Centre, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand.

C The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Kerikeri Research Centre, Private Bag 23, Kerikeri, New Zealand.

D Dipartimento di Colture Arboree, Università di Bologna, Via Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy.

E The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Te Puke Research Centre, 412 No 1 Road, RD2, Te Puke, 3182, New Zealand.

F Present address: Scion, Te Papa Tipu Innovation Park, Private Bag 3020, Rotorua, New Zealand.

G Present address: University of Waikato, Department of Biological Science, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand.

H Corresponding author. Email: simona.nardozza@plantandfood.co.nz

Functional Plant Biology 37(6) 545-554 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP09301
Submitted: 17 December 2009  Accepted: 3 March 2010   Published: 20 May 2010

Abstract

This study identifies the developmental processes contributing to variation in green-fleshed kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson var. deliciosa) fruit dry matter content (DM) and fresh weight (FW) by comparing genotypes with either high or low final DM. Results are compared with the model for fruit development, the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Differences in final composition were attributable to a higher rate of starch accumulation from 70 days after anthesis in high DM genotypes, with no other consistent differences in accumulation of soluble sugars or organic acids. High DM genotypes had 70% higher starch content and differed from low DM genotypes in the allocation of carbon between storage and other components. DM was negatively correlated with final fruit FW only in high DM genotypes, whereas starch was a constant proportion of dry weight (DW), suggesting a dilution effect rather than an interaction between fruit size and carbohydrate metabolism. Compared with tomato, the organic acids, particularly quinic acid, contributed more to estimated osmotic pressure during growth in FW than the soluble sugars, regardless of final composition or size. Seed mass per unit FW was highest in high DM genotypes, suggesting a previously unrecognised role for kiwifruit seeds in accumulation of carbohydrate by the pericarp. Anatomical comparisons also identified a role for differences in the packing of the two principal cell types, with an increased frequency of the larger cell type correlated with reduced DM. These genotypes demonstrate that kiwifruit differs from tomato in the role of starch as the principal stored carbohydrate, the reduced importance of dilution by growth in FW and the more minor role of the sugars compared with the organic acids during fruit development.

Additional keywords: citric acid, fructose, glucose, malic acid, myo-inositol, non-structural carbohydrate, quality, sucrose.


Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Plant & Food Research Kiwifruit Royalty Investment Programme, the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (Contract No. C06X0706 and C06X0202), and the University of Bologna. SN is currently supported by a post-doctoral fellowship from the Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust (Contract No. 22817). The authors thank Ian Hallett and Paul Sutherland for microscopy advice, Sam Ong Eng Chye and Rosannah McCartney for their technical assistance, Nihal De Silva and Mark Wohlers for statistical advice and Ross Atkinson and Peter Minchin for their critical review of the manuscript.


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