Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Leveraging CyVerse Resources for De Novo Comparative Transcriptomics of Underserved Non-model Organisms
Published on: May 9, 2017
Comparative transcriptomic and metabolic analysis reveals the effect of melatonin on delaying anthracnose incidence
Taotao Li1, Qixian Wu1, Hong Zhu1
1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
Background:
Banana anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum musae, is one of the most severe postharvest diseases in banana. Melatonin is widely known for its role in enhancing plant stress tolerance. However, little is known about the control of melatonin on anthracnose in postharvest banana fruit.
Results:
In this study, exogenous melatonin treatment could significantly reduce the incidence of anthracnose in ripe yellow banana fruit and delay fruit senescence. However, melatonin treatment did not affect the growth of Colletotrichum musae in vitro. Transcriptomic analysis of banana peel showed that 339 genes were up-regulated and 241 were down-regulated in the peel after melatonin treatment, compared with the control. Based on GO terms and KEGG pathway, these up-regulated genes were mainly categorized into signal transduction, cell wall formation, secondary metabolism, volatile compounds synthesis and response to stress, which might be related to the anti-anthracnose of banana fruit induced by melatonin treatment. This view was also supported by the increase of volatile compounds, cell wall components and IAA content in the melatonin-treated fruit peel via the metabolomic analysis. After melatonin treatment, auxin, ethylene and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways were enhanced, which might be involved in the enhanced fruit resistance by regulating physiological characteristics, disease-resistant proteins and metabolites.
Conclusions:
Our results provide a better understanding of the molecular processes in melatonin treatment delaying banana fruit senescence and anthracnose incidence.
Related Concept Videos
Fruit Development, Structure, and Function
Comparing the Survival Analysis of Two or More Groups
Prevalence and Incidence
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...
What is Metabolism?
Types of Reports II: Incident or Occurrence Report
Purposes:
In the healthcare industry, reports play a crucial role in documenting incidents within an agency. The primary objective of these reports is to ensure patient safety, uphold the...
Comparing Copy Number Variations and SNPs
Copy number variations or CNVs are the structural variations that cover more than 1kb of DNA sequence. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), on the other hand, is a single nucleotide change or a point mutation that is found in more than 1%...

