Melatonin promotes ripening of grape berry via increasing the levels of ABA, H2O2, and particularly ethylene

Abstract

Ripening: waking the grape Melatonin, the same hormone that regulates sleep and wakefulness in animals, promotes ripening of grapes by triggering the production of other ripening hormones. Melatonin was previously known to play a part in fruit ripening, but the mechanism remains poorly understood. Yu-Xin Yao and co-workers at Shandong Agricultural University in China tested how applying various quantities of melatonin affected ripening of grapes, and also investigated the mechanism of action by measuring levels of other hormones related to ripening, such as ethylene. They found that adding melatonin made grapes ripen sooner, and increasing the quantity increased the effect. Applying substances that inhibited the other ripening hormones repressed ripening, indicating that melatonin cannot act alone. These results illuminate how melatonin triggers ripening, and may help in developing methods to induce ripening in various plants.