A comprehensive and mechanistic perspective on fruit ripening, emphasizing commonalities and differences between fruit groups and ripening processes.

Fruits are an essential part of the human diet and contain important phytochemicals that provide protection against heart disease and cancers. Fruit ripening is of importance for human health and for industry-based strategies to harness natural variation, or genetic modification, for crop improvement.

This book covers recent advances in the field of plant genomics and how these discoveries can be exploited to understand evolutionary processes and the complex network of hormonal and genetic control of ripening. The book explains the physiochemical and molecular changes in fruit that impact its quality, and recent developments in understanding of the genetic, molecular and biochemical basis for colour, flavour and texture. It is a valuable resource for plant and crop researchers and professionals, agricultural engineers, horticulturists, and food scientists.

Summary:

• Reviews the physiochemical and molecular changes in fruit which impact flavour, texture, and colour
• Covers recent advances in genomics on the genetic, molecular, and biochemical basis of fruit quality
• Integrates information on both hormonal and genetic control of ripening
• Relevant for basic researchers and applied scientists

Content:
Chapter 1 Biochemistry of Fruit Ripening (pages 1–19): Sonia Osorio and Alisdair R. Fernie
Chapter 2 Fruit—An Angiosperm Innovation (pages 21–42): Sandra Knapp and Amy Litt
Chapter 3 Ethylene and the Control of Fruit Ripening (pages 43–73): Don Grierson
Chapter 4 Carotenoid Biosynthesis and Chlorophyll Degradation (pages 75–116): Peter M. Bramley
Chapter 5 Phenylpropanoid Metabolism and Biosynthesis of Anthocyanins (pages 117–134): Laura Jaakola
Chapter 6 Biosynthesis of Volatile Compounds (pages 135–161): Antonio Granell and Jose Luis Rambla
Chapter 7 Cell Wall Architecture and Metabolism in Ripening Fruit and the Complex Relationship with Softening (pages 163–187): Eliel Ruiz?May and Jocelyn K. C. Rose
Chapter 8 Regulatory Networks Controlling Ripening (pages 189–206): Betsy Ampopho, Natalie Chapman, Graham B. Seymour and James J. Giovannoni