STUDY ON THE ROLE OF CASPASE-3 AT LONGAN PULP AUTOLYSIS

Pulp quality changes of longan cv. ‘Shixia’ stored at 3-5°C were investigated and the activity of caspase-3 and autolysis index were determined during storage, and the roles of caspase-3 in longan pulp-autolysis and programmed cell death (PCD) were discussed. During cold storage stage of longan fruit, activity of caspase-3 fluctuated. At the beginning of storage, caspase-3 activity rose before the occurrence of pulp-autolysis. It increased quickly with enhanced pulp autolysis. The activity of caspase-3 in the autolytic pulp was significantly higher than that in the non-autolyzed pulp. The results indicated that caspase-3 may take part in the initiation and enhancement of the pulp autolysis, which maybe a result of PCD.