Fruit softening is due to cell wall degradation and involves the coordinated action of several hydrolytic enzymes that modify cell wall constituents, changing its biophysical properties and loosening adhesion between adjacent cells. Although currently we know much about the main enzymes involved in cell wall degradation, our knowledge about the mechanisms controlling this process is limited. Interestingly, recent findings indicate that external application of different hormones, such as abscisic acid, jasmonate and polyamines, increased the expression of cell wall-modifying genes, suggesting their involvement in cell wall degradation.
This project aims to understand how hormones control fruit softening. Using an integrative approach, you will determine the structural, metabolic and molecular changes that occur in the cell walls of the ripening strawberry fruit in response to external application of hormones. You will have the opportunity to get training in a range of analytical methods, such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), spectrophotometry, and texture analysis. It is envisaged that this work will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal.
