Functions and Mechanisms of Protein Post-Translational Modifications During Fruit Ripening

doi:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2026-0158

Acta Horticulturae Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (7): 1853-1870.doi: 10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2026-0158

• Reviews • Next Articles

Functions and Mechanisms of Protein Post-Translational Modifications During Fruit Ripening

DUAN Chengyuan¹, WEI Wei¹, SHAN Wei¹, CHEN Jianye¹, LU Wangjin¹, KUANG Jianfei¹, YANG Yingying¹^,²^,^*()

¹ Engineering Research Center of Southern Horticultural Products Preservation， Ministry of Education，Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Postharvest Science of Fruits and Vegetables，College of Horticulture，South China Agricultural University， Guangzhou 510642， China
² Key Laboratory for Postharvest Storage and Preservation of Fruits & Vegetables of Jiangxi Province， School of Agriculture Sciences，Jiangxi Agricultural University， Nanchang 330045， China

Received:2026-02-10 Revised:2026-06-02 Online:2026-07-25 Published:2026-07-23
Contact: YANG Yingying

Abstract

Abstract:

Fruit ripening is a complex biological process that is precisely regulated by multi-level molecular networks，in which protein post-translational modifications（PTMs）act as central regulatory hubs. This review systematically summarizes the functions and mechanisms of classical PTMs，including phosphorylation，ubiquitination，acetylation and glycosylation，as well as emerging PTMs such as methylation，crotonylation，persulfidation，redox-related modifications and S-nitrosylation during fruit ripening. Different PTMs differentially regulate the ripening of climacteric and non-climacteric fruits by modulating hormone signaling pathways，such as ethylene and abscisic acid（ABA），as well as kinase cascades including MAPK，CDPK and SnRK2，and epigenetic modifications such as histone acetylation and methylation. Crosstalk mechanisms，such as phosphorylation-ubiquitination coupling，also occur among PTMs，coordinately regulating the activity，stability and subcellular localization of transcription factors and metabolic enzymes. These processes further mediate pigment biosynthesis，cell wall degradation，sugar-acid metabolism，volatile compound synthesis and nutrient accumulation，ultimately determining fruit color，texture，taste，aroma and nutritional quality. In addition，environmental factors such as low temperature and light，as well as exogenous signals including ethylene，nitric oxide（NO）and hydrogen sulfide（H₂S），can dynamically remodel PTMs to finely regulate fruit ripening，quality formation and postharvest preservation. A deeper understanding of the regulatory networks and molecular mechanisms of PTMs will not only improve the theoretical framework of fruit ripening regulation，but also provide a foundation for PTM-targeted gene editing breeding and precision postharvest regulation strategies，thereby promoting fruit quality improvement and extending storage life.

Key words: fruit, ripening, quality, post-translational modifications, exogenous signal mediation, postharvest regulation

DUAN Chengyuan, WEI Wei, SHAN Wei, CHEN Jianye, LU Wangjin, KUANG Jianfei, YANG Yingying. Functions and Mechanisms of Protein Post-Translational Modifications During Fruit Ripening[J]. Acta Horticulturae Sinica, 2026, 53(7): 1853-1870.

Figures/Tables 2

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the multi-step kinase phosphorylation signaling regulation mechanism in fruit ripening Upstream signals such as ethylene，ABA，Ca2+，sucrose，and developmental and environmental factors are transmitted via the MAPK cascade and pathways involving CDPK and SnRK2. By regulating the activity of species-specific downstream targets，these signals ultimately influence physiological processes such as ethylene biosynthesis，cell wall degradation，pigment accumulation，fruit ripening，and postharvest shelf life.（Wang et al.，2014；Yoon，2015；Wu et al.，2021；Yang et al.，2022；Li et al.，2023；Wei et al.，2023；Zhou et al.，2024a；Jia et al.，2025；Tan et al.，2025）

Fig. 2 Molecular mechanism of multiple post-translational modifications（PTMs）coordinately regulating fruit ripening and quality formation Endogenous hormones and exogenous environmental signals work in concert to regulate gene expression，protein stability，and metabolic remodeling through pathways such as phosphorylation，ubiquitination，acetylation，glycosylation，and epigenetic modifications，ultimately influencing fruit ripening，quality development，and postharvest traits（Meli et al.，2010；Komander & Rape，2012；Wang et al.，2014；Yoon，2015；Han et al.，2016；Wu et al.，2019，2021，2023；Corpas et al.，2021；Pattyn et al.，2021；Ming et al.，2023；Sougrakpam et al.，2023；An et al.，2024；Ma et al.，2024；Zhou et al.，2024b；Jia et al.，2025；Li et al.，2025b；Tan et al.，2025；Zhao et al.，2025）

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Functions and Mechanisms of Protein Post-Translational Modifications During Fruit Ripening

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