Nitric oxide, essential to keep the quality of fruits and vegetables during postharvest

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous free radical that has been become a potential tool to maintain the quality of postharvest horticultural produce. It plays important roles in delaying ripening, alleviating chilling injury, preventing browning, and enhancing disease resistance. The regulatory function of NO is achieved through the post-transcriptional modification of proteins, such as tyrosine nitration, S-nitrosylation, and nitroalkylation. Secondly, NO can also induce the expression of stress-related genes by synergistically interacting with other signaling substances, such as Ca2+, ethylene (ETH), salicylic acid (SA), and jasmonic acid (JA). Here, research progress on the role of NO and its donors in regulating the quality of postharvest fruits and vegetables under storage is reviewed. The function of NO crosstalk with other phytohormones is summarized. Future research directions for NO commercial application and the endogenous NO regulatory mechanism are also discussed. Contents1.Introduction2. Effects of NO on Fruit Ripening3. NO Can Enhance the Defense of Fruits and Vegetables against Chilling Injury4. Effects of NO on Disease Resistance and Pest Control after Harvest5. Effects of NO on Browning6. The Application Methods of NO7. Crosstalk between NO and Phytohormones in Fruits and Vegetables9. Conclusions Picture?is Fig. 1 of the original paper - A schematic model of NO synthesis and removal. NO is synthesized via the reductivepathway and the oxidative pathway. The enzymes for the reductive pathway include NR, Ni?NOR,?NiR, and XOR. Non-enzymatic nitrite reduction occurs spontaneously under low pH. POD, NOSlike, PA oxidase, cytochrome-c oxidase, and hemoglobin are involved in the oxidative pathway. NO?can be removed by reaction with ROS, proteins, MT, and SA. NR: nitrate reductase; Ni?NOR: nitrite?NO reductase; NiR: nitrate reductase; XOR: xanthine oxidoreductase; POD: peroxidase; PA:?polyamine; MT: melatonin; SA: salicylic acid. SourceNitric Oxide Is?Essential to Keep the Postharvest?Quality of Fruits and VegetablesLiu, Y.; Chen, T.; Tao, N.; Yan,?T.; Wang, Q.; Li, Q.Horticulturae 2023, 9, 135.https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9020135https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/9/2/135