ANALYSIS OF MAACS1 AND MAERF26 GENE EXPRESSION DURING FRUIT RIPENING PROCESS OF TONGKA LANGIT BANANA (MUSA TROGLODYTARUM L)

• Main Author: Amalia, Annisa
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Karya Umum
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/48928
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Tongka Langit is a banana cultivar which has unique characteristics, the fruit stem grows straight -carotene compared to other banana -carotene is a precursor for pro-vitamin A so that the Tongka Langit has a potential as a nutritious food source and also as a source of vitamin A. Therefore, it is very important to have the sustainable availability Tongka Langit. However, being a climateric fruit, banana has a short shelf life. The ripening process of bananas are relatively fast, causing its quality to decline rapidly. Post-harvest handling technology is required to extend the shelf life of the fruit. In order to design the technology, a comprehensive understanding of molecular studies of ethylene hormones and gene regulation are very important. Molecular studies of the ripening process of the Tongka Langit have not been much reported. This study aims to obtain information about sensitivity and response to ethylene induction in the profile expression of the genes involved during the maturation process of the Tongka Langit. The bananas were harvested, treated with ethylene, and then the ripening process was observed. Observations during the fruit ripening process were carried out starting from the analysis of physiological parameters such as color changes, peel and pulp ratio, total soluble solids (TSS), starch conversion, and analysis of MaACS1 and MaERF026 gene expression. MaACS1 regulates ethylene biosynthesis and MaERF026 regulates response to ethylene such as ripening process. Results showed that ethylene treatment on Tongka Langit fruits could accelerate the ripening process up to two days, by accelerating their peel and pulp color alteration, starch relative content, and total soluble solids (TSS) until the third day of storage. However, the weight loss and pulp to peel ratio of ethylenetreated fruits were not significantly different from control. Gene expression analysis showed that MaACS1 and MaERF026 expression level was higher on ethylenetreated fruits than control on the first day of storage, then decreased and made the expression level lower than the control fruits on the third and the seventh day of the storage. In conclusion, ethylene treatment accelerated the ripening process and accelerated the increase of MaACS1 and MaERF026 gene expression at the early stage of Tongka Langit fruits ripening.