The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Modification of cell wall properties in lettuce improves shelf life

Modification of cell wall properties in lettuce improves shelf life
Modification of cell wall properties in lettuce improves shelf life
It is proposed that post-harvest longevity and appearance of salad crops is closely linked to pre-harvest leaf morphology (cell and leaf size) and biophysical structure (leaf strength). Transgenic lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa cv. Valeria) were produced in which the production of the cell wall-modifying enzyme xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) was down-regulated by antisense inhibition.

Independently transformed lines were shown to have multiple members of the LsXTH gene family down-regulated in mature leaves of 6-week-old plants and during the course of shelf life. Consequently, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET) enzyme activity and action were down-regulated in the cell walls of these leaves and it was established that leaf area and fresh weight were decreased while leaf strength was increased in the transgenic lines. Membrane permeability was reduced towards the end of shelf life in the transgenic lines relative to the controls and bacteria were evident inside the leaves of control plants only. Most importantly, an extended shelf-life of transgenic lines was observed relative to the non-transgenic control plants. These data illustrate the potential for engineering cell wall traits for improving quality and longevity of salad crops using either genetic modification directly, or by using markers associated with XTH genes to inform a commercial breeding programme.
anti-sense, cell wall properties, lettuce, shelf life, XET, XTH
0022-0957
1239-1248
Wagstaff, Carol
2951ea00-83b1-44db-a014-2b3364189f07
Clarkson, Graham J.J.
ef06b7b4-509b-4ebe-9327-c8950c4f44b3
Zhang, Fangzhu
b30202f0-21a8-4565-99d9-f009155d1482
Rothwell, Steve D.
bb161dcf-d9fc-4334-b04d-28d385e3925b
Fry, Stephen C.
0a7d2e99-397c-4903-beff-51e54d32e4b7
Taylor, Gail
Dixon, Mark S.
9debc1f1-fae6-4ed4-a9b5-f080577c15fc
Wagstaff, Carol
2951ea00-83b1-44db-a014-2b3364189f07
Clarkson, Graham J.J.
ef06b7b4-509b-4ebe-9327-c8950c4f44b3
Zhang, Fangzhu
b30202f0-21a8-4565-99d9-f009155d1482
Rothwell, Steve D.
bb161dcf-d9fc-4334-b04d-28d385e3925b
Fry, Stephen C.
0a7d2e99-397c-4903-beff-51e54d32e4b7
Taylor, Gail
Dixon, Mark S.
9debc1f1-fae6-4ed4-a9b5-f080577c15fc

Wagstaff, Carol, Clarkson, Graham J.J., Zhang, Fangzhu, Rothwell, Steve D., Fry, Stephen C., Taylor, Gail and Dixon, Mark S. (2010) Modification of cell wall properties in lettuce improves shelf life. Journal of Experimental Botany, 61 (4), 1239-1248. (doi:10.1093/jxb/erq038).

Record type: Article

Abstract

It is proposed that post-harvest longevity and appearance of salad crops is closely linked to pre-harvest leaf morphology (cell and leaf size) and biophysical structure (leaf strength). Transgenic lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa cv. Valeria) were produced in which the production of the cell wall-modifying enzyme xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) was down-regulated by antisense inhibition.

Independently transformed lines were shown to have multiple members of the LsXTH gene family down-regulated in mature leaves of 6-week-old plants and during the course of shelf life. Consequently, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET) enzyme activity and action were down-regulated in the cell walls of these leaves and it was established that leaf area and fresh weight were decreased while leaf strength was increased in the transgenic lines. Membrane permeability was reduced towards the end of shelf life in the transgenic lines relative to the controls and bacteria were evident inside the leaves of control plants only. Most importantly, an extended shelf-life of transgenic lines was observed relative to the non-transgenic control plants. These data illustrate the potential for engineering cell wall traits for improving quality and longevity of salad crops using either genetic modification directly, or by using markers associated with XTH genes to inform a commercial breeding programme.

Text
Modification_of_cell_wall_properties_in_lettuce.pdf - Version of Record
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy

More information

Published date: 2010
Keywords: anti-sense, cell wall properties, lettuce, shelf life, XET, XTH

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 160031
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/160031
ISSN: 0022-0957
PURE UUID: 97e5fce9-98d3-4056-9055-ea285cc75e3b

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 09 Jul 2010 15:13
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 01:56

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Carol Wagstaff
Author: Graham J.J. Clarkson
Author: Fangzhu Zhang
Author: Steve D. Rothwell
Author: Stephen C. Fry
Author: Gail Taylor
Author: Mark S. Dixon

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×