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Sequential actions of pectinases and cellulases during secretory cavity formation in Citrus fruits

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Abstract

Pectinase and cellulase activities are involved in a number of intercellular space-forming processes in plants. In this study, we combined cytochemistry with ultrastructural analysis to investigate the ontogeny of secretory cavity in fruits of Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis (Noot.) Swingle, Citrus reticulata Blanco and Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f. Pectinase activity was first detectable at the initial stage of cavity formation, peaked at the intercellular space-forming stage, and diminished at the following stages. In comparison, no cellulase activity was detected until the early lumen-expanding stage. The cellulase activity increased at the late lumen-expanding stage and culminated at the near-mature stage. In the fruit of C. medica var. sarcodactylis, the distribution of pectinase and cellulase reaction products was restricted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the vesicles derived from ER and the cell wall. We also observed that multivesicular structure containing the pectinase reaction product at the initial stage of cavity formation. Our results suggest that pectinase and cellulase are synthesized on ER and secreted directly into the cell wall through exocytosis of ER-derived vesicles. Our observations are consistent with the notion that the secretory cavity in Citrus fruits is formed through a schizolysigenous process in which pectinase activity is involved in the degradation of the middle lamella, whereas cellulase activity is responsible for the degradation of the cell wall.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Xuan Lun and Dongwen Lu for assistance with electron microscopy. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30670119) and Science and Technology Key Program of Guangdong Province (C20605).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Sciences at South China Agricultural University, 510642, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Shejian Liang & Hong Wu

  2. Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Haiyang Wang

  3. Department of Botany at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Ming Yang

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  1. Shejian Liang
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  2. Haiyang Wang
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  3. Ming Yang
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  4. Hong Wu
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Correspondence to Hong Wu.

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Communicated by D. Treutter.

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Liang, S., Wang, H., Yang, M. et al. Sequential actions of pectinases and cellulases during secretory cavity formation in Citrus fruits. Trees 23, 19–27 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-008-0250-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-008-0250-7

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