Carotenoid composition and expression of carotenogenic genes in the peel and pulp of commercial mango fruit cultivars

Abstract Fruits of two mango cultivars (‘Tainong’ and ‘Jinhuang’) with commercial maturity were analyzed for their firmness, TSS (Total soluble solids), color index and soluble sugar content. Compared to ‘Jinhuang’, ‘Tainong’ was texture soften and had higher soluble sugar content and the color judged visually the maturity. To study the regulation mechanism of carotenoid metabolism, carotenoid component and the expression levels of 12 carotenogenic genes in peel and pulp of two mango fruit cultivars with commercial maturity were analsyed. Total carotenoid content in the peel and pulp of ‘Tainong’ was 116.78 ug/g FW and 77.48 ug/g FW, which were 1.39 times and 1.63 times in the peel and pulp of ‘Jinhuang’, respectively. Among the carotenoid components, the main carotenoids in the peel and pulp were α-carotene and β-Carotene, and a small number of carotenoids were lycopene, β-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein. qRT-PCR analysis showed that the accumulation of carotenoids in the peel and pulp of different mango cultivars was controlled by the differential expression of carotenogenic genes. Our results provide new clues for the molecular mechanism of carotenoids metabolism in postharvest ripening of different mango cultivars.