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Fruit Ripening
Fruit is an integral part of certain types of plants' ability to reproduce by providing a means to disperse it's seeds. The process of seed dispersal involves the activity of animals; which digest the fruit and disperse the seeds in its feces. But the fruit must appear and taste agreeable to the various animals which the plant depends upon to eat the fruit and disperse the seeds. In order to accomplish this, the fruit undergoes a physiological change which allows the fruit to become softer and more edible, while simultaneously changing colors. "The cause of fruit ripening is a natural form of a chemical synthesized to make PCV (polyvinyl chloride) piping and plastic bags - namely, a gaseous hormone called ethylene." (Kendrick, 2009) It is the production of ethylene that will activate certain genes inside the fruit that will begin the ripening process.
Once the production of ethylene begins, a series of processes start that fundamentally alter the fruit. As a result of the ethylene signal, a number of "ethylene receptor" genes are affected which, in turn, instigate the production enzymes which catalyze the metabolic reactions which transform the fruit. (McManus, 2012, p.288) This process is called ripening. The presence of ethylene causes certain genes, for example the ETR-1 and CRT-1 genes, to de-activate which then turns on other genes and allows a series of genetic...
The process of ripening causes the naturally occurring chlorophyll to be broken down which can lead to the production of new and different pigments. These new pigments allow the fruit to change color from green to red, yellow, or blue. While developing, the fruit maintains a high level of acids, which make the unripe fruit taste sour and unappetizing. But when the ethylene signal is activated, the enzymes produced will break down the acids in the fruit, changing the fruit's taste from sour to neutral. But it is the degradation of starch by the enzyme amylase which will increase the level of sugar, called fructose when naturally occurring in fruits, to increase. The amylases produced "…accelerate hydrolysis of starch into sugar," making the fruit more palatable to animals. (Koning, 1994) How much amylases are produced will have a direct effect on how sweet, sour, or neutral a fruit will taste; the more amylase transforms starch into fructose, the sweeter the taste.
The ethylene signal also begins a process by which the fruit will become softer, and easier to eat and digest: the production of pectinase. Pectin is a naturally occurring molecule in fruit which is instrumental in the formation of cell walls and the structure of the fruit. In effect, pectin is the glue which holds the fruit's cells in place and allows it to…
References
Koning, R.E. "Home Page for Ross Koning." Plant Physiology Information
Website. 1994. Web. 19 May 2012.
http://plantphys.info/plants_human/fruitgrowripe.shtml
Kendrick, Mandy. "The Origins of Fruit Ripening." Scientific America.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=origin-of-fruit-ripening
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