2026-06-01T08:31:50Zhttps://riuma.uma.es/rest/oai/request

oai:riuma.uma.es:10630/166252026-02-03T11:51:21Zcom_10630_2254col_10630_37959

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Pose-Albacete, Sara author Santiago-Doménech, Nieves author Matas-Arroyo, Antonio Javier author Kirby, Andrew R. author Gunning, A. Patrick author Morris, Victor J. author Quesada-Felice, Miguel Ángel author Mercado-Carmona, José Ángel author Paniagua Correas, Candelas author 2018-10-17 Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to characterize the nanostructure of cell wall pectins during strawberry fruit growth and ripening, as well as in transgenic fruits with pectinase genes downregulated. This technique allows the imaging of individual polymers at high magnification with minimal sample preparation. AFM studies during fruit development show that pectin size, ramification and aggregation is reduced in ripe fruits. Additionally, transgenic lines with different pectinase genes downregulated (polygalacturonase, pectate lyase and B-galactosidase) also show a more complex pectin nanostructure, including longer chains, higher branching degree and larger presence of aggregates. In all those cases the higher pectin complexity at nanoscale correlates with a reduced softening in strawberry fruits at macroscale level. Globally, our results support the key role of pectins in fruit structure and highlights the use of AFM as a powerful tool to gain insights about the bases of textural fruit quality not only in strawberry, but also in other commercial crops. https://hdl.handle.net/10630/16625 Agrofísica AFM study of strawberry pectin nanostructure and its relevance on fruit texture