Lysozyme inhibits postharvest physiological deterioration of cassava
Xiaoyun Wu1,2, Jia Xu1, Qiuxiang Ma1
1National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Abstract:
After harvest, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) storage roots undergo rapid postharvest physiological deterioration, producing blue-brown discoloration in the vasculature due to the production of polyphenolics (mainly quinones and coumarins) by enzymes such as polyphenol oxidase (PPO). Here, we report the application of hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL), a natural PPO inhibitor, in transgenic cassava to repress the symptoms of postharvest physiological deterioration. The HEWL-expressing transgenic plants had lower levels of the two main cassava coumarins tested, scopoletin and scopolin, compared with wild type. HEWL-expressing cassava also showed increased tolerance of oxidative stress. Overall, the lysozyme-PPO system proved to be functional in plants for repressing PPO-mediated commercial product browning.
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