The Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of Fruit Ripening

A comprehensive and mechanistic perspective on fruit ripening, emphasizing commonalities and differences between fruit groups and ripening processes. Fruits are an essential part of the human diet and contain important phytochemicals that provide protection against heart disease and cancers. Fruit ripening is of importance for human health and for industry-based strategies to harness natural variation, or genetic modification, for crop improvement. This book covers recent advances in the field of plant genomics and how these discoveries can be exploited to understand evolutionary processes and the complex network of hormonal and genetic control of ripening. The book explains the physiochemical and molecular changes in fruit that impact its quality, and recent developments in understanding of the genetic, molecular and biochemical basis for colour, flavour and texture. It is a valuable resource for plant and crop researchers and professionals, agricultural engineers, horticulturists, and food scientists. Contents: Chapter 1 Biochemistry of Fruit Ripening 1 Sonia Osorio and Alisdair R. Fernie Chapter 2 Fruit—An Angiosperm Innovation 21 Sandra Knapp and Amy Litt Chapter 3 Ethylene and the Control of Fruit Ripening 43 Don Grierson Chapter 4 Carotenoid Biosynthesis and Chlorophyll Degradation 75 Peter M. Bramley Chapter 5 Phenylpropanoid Metabolism and Biosynthesis of Anthocyanins 117 Laura Jaakola Chapter 6 Biosynthesis of Volatile Compounds 135 Antonio Granell and Jose Luis Rambla Chapter 7 Cell Wall Architecture and Metabolism in Ripening Fruit and the Complex Relationship with Softening 163 Eliel Ruiz-May and Jocelyn K.C. Rose Chapter 8 Regulatory Networks Controlling Ripening 189 Betsy Ampopho, Natalie Chapman, Graham B. Seymour, and James J. Giovannoni