Hanseniaspora uvarum prolongs shelf life of strawberry via volatile production

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea led to severe postharvest losses for strawberry industry. In recent years, some studies have shown that postharvest diseases of strawberry can be controlled by using bacterial, fungal and yeast strains. The yeast strain Hanseniaspora uvarum was shown as an effective antagonist against B. cinerea growth. Here, we further investigated the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) production of H. uvarum and how this could impact on postharvest gray mold control of strawberry. A total of 28 VOCs were detected by GC-MS in the headspace of H. uvarum and strawberry with/without B. cinerea (SI and RSI ≥800). Among these VOCs, 15 VOCs were detected in both conditions, 4 VOCs were H. uvarum and strawberry without B. cinerea and the other 9 VOCs were only detected when B. cinerea was inoculated. Two VOCs, ethyl acetate and 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene, enhanced by inoculation of B. cinerea. In in vitro assay, H. uvarum significantly inhibited mycelial growth and spore germination of B. cinerea via VOCs production. Moreover, in vivo assay showed that H. uvarum reduced B. cinerea infection of strawberry and maintained fruit appearance, firmness and total soluble solids via VOCs production. Collectively, our results showed that H. uvarum VOCs significantly controlled postharvest gray mold of strawberry and prolonged the storage time and shelf life.