TRANSCRIPTOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE RESPONSE OF 'CARDINAL' TABLE GRAPES TO LOW TEMPERATURE AND HIGH CO₂

Postharvest storage life of table grapes is limited due to their sensitivity to fungal attack. A 3-day high CO₂ pre-treatment was effective for maintaining the quality of ‘Cardinal’ berries, but little is known about its mode of action at molecular levels. To gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the responses of grapes to low temperatures and high CO₂ levels we have performed genome-wide transcriptional profiling analysis of RNA isolated from the skin of ‘Cardinal’ berries treated and non-treated with high CO₂ levels using a custom-made Affymetrix GeneChip; it includes probes for 23,096 unigenes developed within the GrapeGen project. Results showed that 3 days of pre-treatment with high CO₂ caused higher changes in gene expression compared to non-treated fruit. By contrast, major changes in gene expression occurred at the end of the storage being higher after 27 days in air (1674), while in CO₂-treated grapes the number of differentially expressed genes was significantly reduced (643).