Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Micromorphological and biochemical features of Malus fruit: Malus domestica Borkh. and its parent species—Malus orientalis Uglitzk.

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Brazilian Journal of Botany Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The morphological and biochemical parameters of the fruit (pericarp) of Malus orientalis Uglitzk. and Malus domestica Borkh. were studied. Plants grew in the mountains of the North Caucasus under the combined effects of abiotic and biotic stressors. The M. orientalis pericarp is covered by a continuous layer of cuticle of greater thickness relative to M. domestica. In this case, differences in cell sizes and their accumulation of phenolic substances were not found. It can be assumed that these parameters were not affected by selection, since they are extremely important for the adaptation of Malus to conditions of combined stress in the mountains. Significant differences between species were found in the fatty acids (FA) composition of pericarp lipids. In the M. orientalis pericarp, a lower content of polyunsaturated FAs was found relative to M. domestica. Conversely, the proportion of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA) is higher in M. orientalis. We assume that these differences are due to selection. Seeing the specifics of the FA composition, which causes a high unsaturation index, M. domestica is more resistant to combined stress at a biochemical level. However, M. orientalis, which has a thicker cuticle, is better adapted to similar influences in the anatomical aspect. On the other hand, the M. orientalis lipids contain a high amount of VLCFA, which prevents the growth of pericarp due to an increase in the number of cells but at the same time contributes to greater resistance to fungal diseases—a property that is reduced by selection of M. domestica.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Assumpcaoa CF, Hermesa VS, Pagnoa C, Castagna A, Mannucci A, Sgherri C, Pinzino C, Ranieri A, Flores SH, Rios AO (2018) Phenolic enrichment in apple skin following post-harvest fruit UV-B treatment. Postharvest Biol Technol 138:37–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bach L, Faure J-D (2010) Role of very-long-chain fatty acids in plant development, when chain length does matter. C R Biol 333:361–370

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bach L, Gissot L, Marion J, Tellier F, Moreau P, Satiat-Jeunemaitre B, Palauqui J-C, Napier JA, Faure J-D (2011) Very-long-chain fatty acids are required for cell plate formation during cytokinesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. J Cell Sci 124:3223–3234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barrero-Sicilia C, Silvestre SS, Haslam RP, Michaelson LV (2017) Lipid remodelling: unravelling the response to cold stress in Arabidopsis and its extremophile relative Eutrema salsugineum. Plant Sci 263:194–200

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brillouet J-M, Escoute J (2012) A new technique for visualizing proanthocyanidins by light microscopy. Biotech Histochem 87:195–200

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cornille A, Gladieux P, Smulders MJM, Roldan-Ruiz I, Laurens F, Le Cam B, Nersesyan A, Clavel J, Olonova M, Feugey L, Gabrielyan I, Zhang X, Tenaillon MI, Giraud T (2012) New insight into the history of domesticated apple: secondary contribution of the European wild apple to the genome of cultivated varieties. Public Libr Sci Genet 8:e1002703

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cruz RP, Golombieski JI, Bazana MT, Cabreira C, Silveira TF, Silva LP (2010) Alterations in fatty acid composition due to cold exposure at the vegetative stage in rice. Braz J Plant Physiol 22:199–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falcone DL, Ogas JP, Somerville CR (2004) Regulation of membrane fatty acid composition by temperature in mutants of Arabidopsis with alterations in membrane lipid composition. BMC Plant Biol 4:17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayward SAL, Murray PA, Andrew Y, Gracey AY, Cossins AR (2007) Beyond the lipid hypothesis: mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity in inducible cold tolerance. In: Csermely P, Vigh L (eds) Molecular aspects of the stress response: chaperones, membranes and networks. Springer, New York, pp 132–142

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hollosy F (2002) Effects of ultraviolet radiation on plant cells. Micron 33:179–197

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ivanova TV, Myasoedov NA, Pchelkin VP, Tsydendambaev VD, Vereshchagin AG (2009) Increased content of very-long-chain fatty acids in the lipids of halophyte vegetative organs. Russ J Plant Physiol 56:787–794

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ivanova TV, Maiorova OV, Orlova YV, Kuznetsova EI, Khalilova LA, Myasoedov NA, Balnokin YV, Tsydendambaev VD (2016) Cell ultrastructure and fatty acid composition of lipids in vegetative organs of Chenopodium album L. under salt stress conditions. Russ J Plant Physiol 63:763–775

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ivanova TV, Voronkov AS, Kuznetsova EI, Kumachova T, Zhirov VK, Tsydendambaev VD (2019) Lipid fatty acids from the pericarp of Cydonia oblonga Mill. and Mespilus germanica L. are involved in plant adaptation to altitudinal zonality. Dokl Biochem Biophys 486:229–233

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Janick J, Cummins JN, Brown SK, Hemmat M (1996) Apples. In: Janick J, Moore JN (eds) Fruit breeding, vol 1: Tree and tropical fruits. Wiley, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumachova TK (2003) Some features of the anatomy of the fruit of Malus domestica (Rosaceae) depending on the height of cultivation in the mountains. Bot J 88:75–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumachova TK, Beloshapkina OO, Voronkov AS (2019a) The Maloideae (Rosaceae) structural and functional features determining passive immunity to mycosis. Asian J Res Bot 2:1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumachova TK, Beloshapkina OO, Voronkov AS, Ryabchenko AS (2019b) Morphofunctional characteristics of leaves and fruits in Maloideae (Rosaceae): b. The role of surface tissues in the formation of resistance to fungal diseases. Works Appl Bot Genet Plant Breed 180:96–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Levina RE (1987) Morphology and ecology of fruits. Nauka, Leningrad, p 158

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyons JM, Weaton TA, Pratt HK (1964) Relationship between the physical nature of mitochondrial membranes and chilling sensitivity in plants. Plant Physiol 39:262–268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marin M, Jasnić N, Lakušić D, Duletić-Laušević S, Ascensão L (2010) The micromorphological, histochemical and confocal analysis of Satureja subspicata Bartl. ex Vis. glandular trichomes. Arch Biol Sci 62:1143–1149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merzlyak MN, Solovchenko AE, Smagin AI, Gitelson AA (2005) Apple flavonols during fruit adaptation to solar radiation: spectral features and technique for non-destructive assessment. J Plant Physiol 162:151–160

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mironov KS, Sidorov RA, Trofimova MS, Bedbenov VS, Tsydendambaev VD, Allakhverdiev SI, Los DA (2012) Light-dependent cold-induced fatty acid unsaturation, changes in membrane fluidity, and alterations in gene expression in Synechocystis. Biochim Biophys Acta 1817:1352–1359

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nobusawa T, Okushima Y, Nagata N, Kojima M, Sakakibara H, Umeda M (2013) Synthesis of very-long-chain fatty acids in the epidermis controls plant organ growth by restricting cell proliferation. Public Libr Sci Biol 11:e1001531

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raffaele S, Leger A, Roby D (2009) Very long chain fatty acid and lipid signaling in the response of plants to pathogens. Plant Signal Behav 4:94–99

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roudier F, Gissot L, Beaudoin F, Haslam R, Michaelson L, Marion J, Molino D, Lima A, Bach L, Morin H, Tellier F, Palauqui J-C, Bellec Y, Renne C, Miquel M, DaCosta M, Vignard J, Rochat C, Markham JE, Moreau P, Napier J, Faurea J-D (2010) Very-long-chain fatty acids are involved in polar auxin transport and developmental patterning in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 22:364–375

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shang B, Xu Ch, Zhang X, Cao H, Xin W, Hu Y (2016) Very-long-chain fatty acids restrict regeneration capacity by confining pericycle competence for callus formation in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci 113:5101–5106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Skibinskaya AM (1955) Phylogenetic method of analysis of apple varieties. In: Proceedings of the extended session of the scientific council of the Altai fruit and berry experimental station. Michurin Inst Publishing, Barnaul

  • Sokolov SY (1954) Trees and shrubs of the USSR. Acad Sci USSR, Moscow

    Google Scholar 

  • Solovchenko A, Merzlyak M (2003) Optical properties and contribution of cuticle to UV protection inplants: experiments with apple fruit. Photochem Photobiol Sci 2:861–866

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Solovchenko A, Schmitz-Eiberger M (2003) Significance of skin flavonoids for UV-B-protection in apple fruits. J Exp Bot 54:1977–1984

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tsydendambaev VD, Ivanova TV, Khalilova LA, Kurkova EB, Myasoedov NA, Balnokin YV (2013) Fatty acid composition of lipids in vegetative organs of the halophyte Suaeda altissima under different levels of salinity. Russ J Plant Physiol 60:661–671

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verdaguera D, Jansenb MAK, Llorensa L, Moralesc LO, Neugartd S (2017) UV-A radiation effects on higher plants: exploring the known unknown. Plant Sci 255:72–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2016.11.014

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuzepchuk SV (1939) Genus Malus: Flora of the USSR. USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow-Leningrad, pp 387–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhong D, Du H, Wang Z, Huang B (2011) Genotypic variation in fatty acid composition and unsaturation levels in bermudagrass associated with leaf dehydration tolerance. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 136:35–40

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Vladimir Dylykovich Tsydendambaev for critical reading of the manuscript.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Alexander Voronkov and Tatiana Ivanova have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, 127276

    Alexander Voronkov & Tatiana Ivanova

  2. Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Moscow, Russia, 127550

    Tamara Kumachova

Authors
  1. Alexander Voronkov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tatiana Ivanova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tamara Kumachova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

TK collected plant material. AV and TK conducted microscopic analysis. AV and TI conducted biochemical and morphometric studies, analyzed all the data, and wrote an article. TK gave comments to the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander Voronkov.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Voronkov, A., Ivanova, T. & Kumachova, T. Micromorphological and biochemical features of Malus fruit: Malus domestica Borkh. and its parent species—Malus orientalis Uglitzk.. Braz. J. Bot 43, 21–28 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-020-00578-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-020-00578-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation