Non-invasive quantification of ethylene in attached fruit headspace at 1 p.p.b. by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Abstract

Ethylene is a gaseous plant hormone involved in defense, adaptations to environmental stress and fruit ripening. Its relevance to the latter makes its detection highly useful for physiologists interested in the onset of ripening. Produced as a sharp peak during the respiratory burst, ethylene is biologically active at tens of nl L -1 . Reliable quantification at such concentrations generally requires specialized instrumentation. Here we present a rapid, high-sensitivity method for detecting ethylene in attached fruit using a conventional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) system and in situ headspace collection chambers. We apply this method to melon (Cucumis melo L.), a unique species consisting of climacteric and non-climacteric varieties, with a high variation in the climacteric phenotype among climacteric types. Using a population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from highly climacteric ('Védrantais', cantalupensis type) and non-climacteric ('Piel de Sapo', inodorus type) parental lines, we observed a significant variation for the intensity, onset and duration of the ethylene burst during fruit ripening. Our method does not require concentration, sampling times over 1 h or fruit harvest. We achieved a limit of detection of 0.41 ± 0.04 nl L -1 and a limit of quantification of 1.37 ± 0.13 nl L -1 with an analysis time per sample of 2.6 min. Validation of the analytical method indicated that linearity (>98%), precision (coefficient of variation ≤2%) and sensitivity compared favorably with dedicated optical sensors. This study adds to evidence of the characteristic climacteric ethylene burst as a complex trait whose intensity in our RIL population lies along a continuum in addition to two extremes.

Plant phenotyping relevance

果実に付着した状態でエチレン放出を定量するGC-MS法とヘッドスペース採取法を開発し、検出限界・定量限界・直線性・精度・感度を検証している。果実成熟に関わる生理形質の取得法が研究の中心である。

Code and data availability

The supplied blocks describe a GC-MS headspace ethylene quantification method applied to melon RILs and tomato, but contain no public phenotype/trait dataset, image/sensor data, author analysis code, or trained model deposit. Supporting Information is mentioned (figures/tables) but no public repository or URL for data,

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