Professor's research on pineapple biochemistry featured on journal cover

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
David A Christopher, (808) 956-8550
Professor, Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering
Posted: Oct 26, 2009

Ripening of pineapple fruit is an important process determining when fruit will be harvested, its ability to withstand shipping, and the length of its shelf life.  Ripening triggers the creation and activation of enzymes that chew away at cell walls and proteins, softening the fruit. One of the most obvious changes is the degradation and loss of the green pigment chlorophyll. 

UH Mānoa professor David Christopher and colleagues Leon Neuteboom and Kristie Matsumoto of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering describe a new process for the control of protein degradation in ripening fruit. They applied an arsenal of state-of-the-art methods, including proteomics, electron microscopy, molecular and cellular biology and biochemistry, to decipher the biochemical processes that underpin fruit ripening. 

“This research furthers our understanding of the processes that trigger of protein degradation in all cells.  Many of the features of ripening are akin to onset of aging, leading to the death of cells not just in plants but in mammals as well,” stated Christopher.

The group discovered a novel potent inhibitor of cell death proteases and determined how the inhibitor is turned on and off.  Living cells, including those of plants, contain proteins that control many functions. Some proteins are “turned on” only at a certain developmental stage (such as ripening) or in response to an environmental cue. At other times, these proteins are “turned off.”  The research team found a unique region of the inhibitor – found only in pineapple - that is essential for inhibition. When this region of amino acids are removed, the inhibitor becomes inactive, is turned off, leading to protein degradation and cell death.   

The complete scientific article can be found at: http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/151/2/515.

For more information on Dr. Christopher’s lab, visit: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/mbbe/Christopher.html.

For more information on CTAHR research, visit:  http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ctahr2001/Research/index.html.