ANALOGIES AND DIFFERENCES IN GRAPES BETWEEN THE OXIDATIVE BURNING IN RIPENING AND SUNBURN

For some years, it has been highlighted how grape ripening processes, like other plant development processes, are triggered and guided by a particular metabolism called “oxidative burst”. The damage from scalding of fruit tissues due to radiative excesses is also the consequence of oxidative outbreaks induced by stress. In the research just published, a comparison was made between the effects of the two oxidative outbreaks in order to understand if and how radiative stress can modify the ripening process of the grape and its oenological potential. The study allowed to highlight the common responses as well as the differences between the physiological oxidation induced by natural maturation and by the oxidative response to strong abiotic stress such as oxidative sunburn.

Figure: Grapes bunch with serious damage from sunburn.

REFERENCE

Rustioni, L., Fracassetti, D., Prinsi, B., Geuna, F., Ancelotti, A., Fauda, V., Tirelli, A., Espen, L., Failla, O. (2020). Plant Physiology and Biochemistry Oxidations in white grape ( Vitis vinifera L .) skins : Comparison between ripening process and photooxidative sunburn symptoms. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 150 (December 2019), 270–278 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2020.03.003].