Georgia Tanou

Hellenic Agricultural Organization - Demeter | ELGO · Soil and Water Resources-Thermi

Citrus fruits are one of the most important fruits in the global food industry due to their unique taste and nutritional benefits. Herein, we characterize the physicochemical and bioactive attributes of twenty-nine Greek citrus accessions, including oranges, mandarins/clementines, lemons, bergamot, citrons and lime along with twenty-seven highly co...

The assessment of fruit quality traits is a key factor in increasing consumer acceptance of kiwifruit. Here, an experiment was performed to evaluate the relationship between dry matter (DM) and soluble solids concentration (SSC), evaluated by both destructive (D) and non-destructive (ND) approaches, with acidity content and sensory evaluation, part...

The term “terroir” has been widely employed to link differential geographic phenotypes with sensorial signatures of agricultural food products, influenced by agricultural practices, soil type and climate. Nowadays, the Geographical Indications labeling has been developed to safeguard the quality of plant-derived food that is linked to a certain ter...

Fruits are necessary for a balanced diet, and they are consumed for their vitamins, fiber, and other beneficial compounds [...]

Plant responses to salinity are becoming increasingly understood, however, salt priming mechanisms remain unclear, especially in perennial fruit trees. Herein, we showed that low-salt pre-exposure primes olive (Olea europaea) plants against high salinity stress. We then performed a proteogenomic study to characterize priming responses in olive root...

The term “terroir” has been widely employed to link differential geographic phenotypes with sensorial signatures of agricultural food products, influenced by agricultural practices, soil type and climate. Nowadays, the Geographical Indications labeling encapsulated by the concept of terroir has been developed to safeguard the quality of plant-deriv...

Mechanical stress of kiwifruit is of major importance since it is directly related to fruit quality and postharvest losses. However, the role of mechanical stress in kiwifruit postharvest metabolism remains poorly explored. The present work characterizes the impact of mechanical stress, applied as compression forces (147.1 N), in 'Hay-ward' kiwifru...

The role of calcium in fruit ripening has been established, however knowledge regarding the molecular analysis at fruit tissue-level is still lacking. To address this, we examined the impact of foliar-applied calcium (0.5% CaCl2) in the ripening metabolism in skin and flesh tissues of the sweet cherry ‘Tragana Edessis’ fruit at the harvest stage. E...

In the forthcoming era of climate change and degradation of culturable land, there is an urgent need to secure global food supply in a sustainable manner. Unravelling the genetic mysteries underlying interactions between functional genetic and metabolic networks through fostering the use of high-throughput -omic technologies can serve as a valuable...

Background Natural products are not only positioned in the heart of traditional medicine but also in modern medicine as many current drugs are coming from natural sources. Apart from the field of medicine and therapeutics, natural products are broadly used in other industrial fields such as nutrition, skincare products and nanotechnology. Methods...

Fruit is constantly challenged by wounding events, inducing accelerated ripening and irreversible metabolic changes. However, cognate mechanisms that regulate this process are little known. To expand our knowledge of ripening metabolism induced by wounding, an artificial-wound global transcriptome investigation combined with metabolite profiling st...

Genome-wide transcriptome analysis provides systems-level insights into plant biology. Due to the limited depth of quantitative proteomics our understanding of gene-protein-complex stoichiometry is largely unknown in plants. Recently, the complexity of the proteome and its cell/tissue specific distribution boost the research community to the integr...

Salinity is a serious constraint that reduces olive crop productivity. Here, we defined metabolite and gene expression changes in various tissues of olive trees (cv. ‘Chondrolia Chalkidikis’) exposed to 75 mM NaCl for 45 days. Results showed that salinity induced foliar symptoms and impaired growth and photosynthetic parameters. The content of Na⁺...

Sweet cherry fruit cracking is a complex physiological disorder that causes significant economic losses. Despite many years of research there is a lack of understanding of the mechanisms involved in cracking. Here, skin and flesh tissue from the cracking susceptible 'Early Bigi’ and the cracking tolerant ‘Regina’ cultivars were sampled prior and ju...

Among the various abiotic stresses, drought is the major factor limiting crop productivity worldwide. Citrus has been recognized as a fruit tree crop group of great importance to the global agricultural sector since there are 140 citrus-producing countries worldwide. The majority of citrus-producing areas are subjected to dry and hot summer weather...

There is a persistent interest in innovative and multifunctional ingredients in biology research. With regards to this, natural sources have an important role due to their multiple benefits. Thus, this study aims to present the pleiotropic activity of Prunus avium L. extract on human primary fibroblasts for proving its efficacy in dermis-related pr...

The possible role of an early calcium application via sprays (0.25, 0.5 and 1M CaCl 2) on dormant buds to improve sweet cherry (cv. Ferrovia) fruit quality at harvest was investigated. Fruit quality characteristics were also investigated in response to the age of spurs, the ripening stage, and their interactions. Results indicate that calcium enter...

The benefits of silicon against abiotic stress in different annual plant species have been described in many studies, however the regulation of ripening of fruit tree crops by silicon remains largely uncharacterized. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the impact of foliar silicon application in the apple (cv. ‘Fuji’) fruit ripening trait...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of exogenous melatonin (0. 5 mM) application through pre-harvest foliar spray and postharvest immersion, alone or in combination, on ripening parameters of sweet cherry (cv. Ferrovia) fruit and their relationship with bioactive compounds and gene expression at harvest as well after cold sto...

Maturity is one of the most important factors associated with the quality of olive products, however the molecular events underlying olive drupe development remain poorly characterized. Using proteomic and metabolomic approaches, this study investigated the changes in the olive drupes (cv. Chondrolia Chalkidikis) across six developmental stages (S1...

The olive tree (Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea) is the most important perennial crop in the Mediterranean region, producing table olives and oil, both appreciated for their nutraceutical value. Although olive oil quality traits have been extensively studied, much less attention has been paid to olive drupe. Olive drupe ripening is an extremely co...

The nutritional value of the peeled and unpeeled fruit (peel plus flesh tissues) was studied using four peach (Prunus persica L.; Red Heaven, Maria Blanca, Big Top, and Queen Giant), two pear (Pyrus communis L.; Santa Maria, Pyrus pyrifolia N.; Nashi), and three apple (Malus domestica Borkh.; Gala, Granny Smith, and Red Chief) cultivars. Based on p...

Gray mold caused by the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea is one of the major postharvest diseases of apple fruit. The exogenous application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and gaseous ozone (O 3 ) is commonly used to ensure postharvest fruit quality. However, the effect of these treatments on the susceptibility of apple fruit to postharvest pat...

Key message This work provides the first system-wide datasets concerning metabolic changes in calcium-treated fruits, which reveal that exogenously applied calcium may specifically reprogram sweet cherry development and ripening physiognomy. Abstract Calcium modulates a wide range of plant developmental processes; however, the regulation of fruit...

The current study characterizes the physicochemical, sensory and bioactive compound traits of twenty-two sweet cherry accessions, namely breeding lines, landraces and modern cultivars, embodying the majority of Greek germplasm. The evaluated accessions differ in several quality traits including colour parameters and textural properties as well as s...

Apple (Malus domestica Borkh) is an important fruit crop cultivated in a broad range of environmental conditions. Apple fruit ripening is a physiological process, whose molecular regulatory network response to different environments is still not sufficiently investigated and this is particularly true of the peel tissue. In this study, the influence...

Ascorbate oxidase (AO, EC 1.10.3.3) is a copper-containing enzyme localized at the apoplast, where it catalyzes the oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) to dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) via monodehydroascorbic acid (MDHA) intermediate. Despite it has been extensively studied, no biological roles have been definitively ascribed. To understand the role of AO...

Brown rot, caused by Monilinia spp., is a major peach disease worldwide. In this study, the response of peach cultivars Royal Glory (RG) and Rich Lady (RL) to infection by Monilinia fructicola or Monilinia laxa, was characterized. Phenotypic data, after artificial inoculations, revealed that ‘RL’ was relatively susceptible whereas ‘RG’ was moderate...

The role of anthocyanin accumulation in poinsettia leaves exposed to photo-oxidative stress was evaluated by comparing green (anthocyanin less) and reddish (anthocyanin well equipped) leaves, co-occurring in poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch). For the assessment we compared the photoprotective and antioxidant mechanisms in the tw...

Background: Rain-induced fruit cracking is a major physiological problem in most sweet cherry cultivars. For an in vivo cracking assay, the 'Christensen method' (cracking evaluation following fruit immersion in water) is commonly used; however, this test does not adequately simulate environmental conditions. Herein, we have designed and evaluated...

Background: Rain-induced fruit cracking is a major physiological problem in most sweet cherry cultivars. For an in vivocracking assay, the ‘Christensen method’ (cracking evaluation following fruit immersion in water) is commonly used; however, this test does not adequately simulate environmental conditions.Herein, we have designed and evaluated a c...

Despite the application of girdling technique for several centuries, its impact on the metabolic shifts that underly fruit biology remains fragmentary. To characterize the influence of girdling on sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) fruit development and ripening, second-year-old shoots of the cultivars ‘Lapins’ and ‘Skeena’ were girdled before full blo...

Superficial scald is a major physiological disorder in apple fruit that is induced by cold storage and is mainly expressed as brown necrotic patches on peel tissue. However, a global view of the gene-protein-metabolite interactome underlying scald prevention/sensitivity is currently missing. Herein, we have found for the first time that cold storag...

Background: Rain-induced fruit cracking is a major physiological problem in most sweet cherry cultivars. For an in vivo cracking assay, the ‘Christensen method’ (cracking evaluation following fruit immersion in water) is commonly used; however, this test has been questioned. Herein, we have designed and evaluated a cracking protocol, named ‘Waterfa...

Heat and calcium treatments are used to improve postharvest fruit longevity; however, the exact mechanism remains poorly understood. To characterize the impact of these treatments on sweet cherries metabolism, ‘Lapins’ fruits were treated with heat or CaCl2 solutions and their combination and subsequently were exposed at room temperature, for up to...

The im­pact of ul­tra­vi­o­let-C (UV–C) ir­ra­di­a­tion on sweet cherry fruit was stud­ied. Fol­low­ing har­vest, fruits (cv. Sweet­heart) were ex­posed to dif­fer­ent doses of UV-C (0, 1.2, 3.0 or 6.0 kJ m−2) and then cold stored (0 °C) for 10 days. Treat­ments with UV-C de­layed most ripen­ing fea­tures and re­duced pit­ting symp­toms, par­tic­u­...

Background: Understanding the mechanisms involved in climacteric fruit ripening is key to improve fruit harvest quality and postharvest performance. Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa cv. ‘Hayward’) ripening involves a series of metabolic changes regulated by ethylene. Although 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP, inhibitor of ethylene action) or ozone (O3) ex...

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), an endogenous gaseous molecule, is considered as a signaling molecule, alongside small reactive compounds such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO), in various plant systems. Recently, accumulating evidence has shown that postharvest application of H2S through the use of H2S donors, can inhibit fruit ripening an...

Superficial scald is a major physiological disorder of apple fruit (Malus domestica Borkh.) characterized by skin browning following cold storage; however, knowledge regarding the downstream processes that modulate scald phenomenon is unclear. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying scald resistance, ‘Granny Smith’ apples after harvest were...

Few studies have focused on the metabolic characterization of bud dormancy and shoot growth in temperate fruit species, although this is an intresting framework to anticipate adaptation in global climate changes. To examine this issue, two experimental approaches were applied, using sweet cherry (Prunus avium L. cv ‘Grace Star’) bud and shoot tissu...

Diphenylamine (DPA) is a common soil and water contaminant. A Pseudomonas putida strain, recently isolated from a wastewater disposal site, was efficient in degrading DPA. Thorough knowledge of the metabolic capacity, genetic stability and physiology of bacteria during biodegradation of pollutants is essential for their future industrial exploitati...

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

In poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch.), green leaves turn reddish and then red, due to vacuolar anthocyanin accumulation. Reddish leaves accumulate anthocyanins mainly in the adaxial (upper) epidermis, and less in the mesophyll cells, while red, in both adaxial and abaxial (lower) epidermides, and the adjacent mesophyll cells. In...

Ortho-phenylphenol (OPP) is a fungicide contained in agro-industrial effluents produced by fruit-packaging plants. Within the frame of developing bio-strategies to detoxify these effluents, an OPP-degrading Sphingomonas haloaromaticamans strain was isolated. Proteins/genes with a putative catabolic role and bacterium adaptation mechanisms during OP...