Effect of exogenous sucrose on anthocyanin synthesis in postharvest strawberry fruit

Sucrose acts as a vital signal that modulates fruit ripening. In current study, 50 mM sucrose was applied in strawberry fruit to investigate the regulation of sucrose in anthocyanin synthesis after harvest. The results showed that sucrose treatment increased the contents of glucose, fructose and sucrose, which were 19.76%, 15.83% and 16.50% higher, respectively, compared with control at the end of storage. The increase of glucose and fructose contents resulted from the activation of acid invertase by sucrose treatment. In addition, sucrose treatment specifically increased four pelargonidin derivatives, pelargonidin 3-glucoside, pelargonidin 3-rutinoside, pelargonidin 3-malonylglucoside and pelargonidin 3-methylmalonyglucoside, during the storage. Further, transcriptional profiles and enzyme activities analysis revealed that the accumulation of pelargonidin derivatives was related to the activation of the pentose phosphate pathway, shikimate pathway, phenylpropanoid pathway, and flavonoid pathway. These results provided new insights into the regulation of sucrose on the accumulation of individual anthocyanins.