Добірка наукової літератури з теми "Cytosolic export"

Pertussis toxin (PT) moves from the host cell surface to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by retrograde vesicular transport. The catalytic PTS1 subunit dissociates from the rest of the toxin in the ER and then shifts to a disordered conformation which may trigger its export to the cytosol through the quality control mechanism of ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Functional roles for toxin instability and ERAD in PTS1 translocation have not been established. We addressed these issues with the use of a surface plasmon resonance system to quantify the cytosolic pool of PTS1 from intoxicated cells. Only 3% of surface-associated PTS1 reached the host cytosol after 3 h of toxin exposure. This represented, on average, 38,000 molecules of cytosolic PTS1 per cell. Cells treated with a proteasome inhibitor contained larger quantities of cytosolic PTS1. Stabilization of the dissociated PTS1 subunit with chemical chaperones inhibited toxin export to the cytosol and blocked PT intoxication. ERAD-defective cell lines likewise exhibited reduced quantities of cytosolic PTS1 and PT resistance. These observations identify the unfolding of dissociated PTS1 as a trigger for its ERAD-mediated translocation to the cytosol.

We have developed a permeabilized cell assay to study the nuclear export of the shuttling transcription factor NFAT, which contains a leucine-rich export signal. The assay uses HeLa cells that are stably transfected with NFAT fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP). Nuclear export of GFP–NFAT in digitonin-permeabilized cells occurs in a temperature- and ATP-dependent manner and can be quantified by flow cytometry. In vitro NFAT export requires the GTPase Ran, which is released from cells during the digitonin permeabilization. At least one additional rate-limiting export factor is depleted from permeabilized cells by a preincubation at 30°C in the absence of cytosol. This activity can be provided by cytosolic or nucleoplasmic extracts in a subsequent export step. Using this assay, we have purified a second major export activity from cytosol. We found that it corresponds to CRM1, a protein recently reported to be a receptor for certain leucine-rich export sequences. CRM1 appears to be imported into the nucleus by a Ran-dependent mechanism that is distinct from conventional signaling pathways. Considered together, our studies directly demonstrate by fractionation and reconstitution that nuclear export of NFAT is mediated by multiple nucleocytoplasmic shuttling factors, including Ran and CRM1.

AbstractIn eukaryotes, the regulated transport of mRNAs from the cell nucleus to the cytosol is a critical step in the expression of protein-coding genes, as it links nuclear mRNA synthesis with cytosolic translation. The pre-mRNAs that are synthesised by RNA polymerase II are processed by 5´-capping, splicing, and 3´-polyadenylation. The multi-subunit THO/TREX complex integrates mRNA biogenesis with their nucleocytosolic transport. Various export factors are recruited to the mRNAs during their maturation, which occurs essentially co-transcriptionally. These RNA-bound export factors ensure efficient transport of the export-competent mRNAs through nuclear pore complexes. In recent years, several factors involved in plant mRNA export have been functionally characterised. Analysis of mutant plants has demonstrated that impaired mRNA export causes defects in growth and development. Moreover, there is accumulating evidence that mRNA export can influence processes such as plant immunity, circadian regulation, and stress responses. Therefore, it is important to learn more details about the mechanism of nucleocytosolic mRNA transport in plants and its physiological significance.

In previous work, we used a permeabilized cell assay that reconstitutes nuclear export of protein kinase inhibitor (PKI) to show that cytosol contains an export activity that is distinct from Crm1 (Holaska, J.M., and B.M. Paschal. 1995. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 95: 14739–14744). Here, we describe the purification and characterization of the activity as calreticulin (CRT), a protein previously ascribed to functions in the lumen of the ER. We show that cells contain both ER and cytosolic pools of CRT. The mechanism of CRT-dependent export of PKI requires a functional nuclear export signal (NES) in PKI and involves formation of an export complex that contains RanGTP. Previous studies linking CRT to downregulation of steroid hormone receptor function led us to examine its potential role in nuclear export of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). We found that CRT mediates nuclear export of GR in permeabilized cell, microinjection, and transfection assays. GR export is insensitive to the Crm1 inhibitor leptomycin B in vivo, and it does not rely on a leucine-rich NES. Rather, GR export is facilitated by its DNA-binding domain, which is shown to function as an NES when transplanted to a green fluorescent protein reporter. CRT defines a new export pathway that may regulate the transcriptional activity of steroid hormone receptors.

Abstract MOD5 encodes a tRNA modification activity located in three subcellular compartments. Alternative translation initiation generates Mod5p-I, located in the mitochondria and the cytosol, and Mod5p-II, located in the cytosol and nucleus. Here we study the nucleus/cytosol distribution of overexpressed Mod5p-II. Nuclear Mod5p-II appears concentrated in the nucleolus, perhaps indicating that the nuclear pool may have a different biological role than the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial pools. Mod5p contains three motifs resembling bipartite-like nuclear localization sequences (NLSs), but only one is sufficient to locate a passenger protein to the nucleus. Mutations of basic residues of this motif cumulatively contribute to a cytosolic location for the fusion proteins. These alterations also cause decreased nuclear pools of endogenous Mod5p-II. Depletion of nuclear Mod5p-II does not affect tRNATyr function. Despite the NLS, most Mod5p is cytosolic. We assessed whether Mod5p sequences cause a karyophilic reporter to be located in the cytosol. By this assay, Mod5p may contain more than one region that functions as cytoplasmic retention and/or nuclear export sequences. Thus, distribution of Mod5p results from the presence/absence of mitochondrial targeting information and sequences antagonistic for nuclear and cytosolic locations. Mod5p is highly conserved; sequences responsible for subcellular distribution appear to reside in “accessory” motifs missing from prokaryotic counterparts.

Coat protein II (COPII)–mediated export from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) involves sequential recruitment of COPII complex components, including the Sar1 GTPase, the Sec23/Sec24 subcomplex, and the Sec13/Sec31 subcomplex. p125A was originally identified as a Sec23A-interacting protein. Here we demonstrate that p125A also interacts with the C-terminal region of Sec31A. The Sec31A-interacting domain of p125A is between residues 260–600, and is therefore a distinct domain from that required for interaction with Sec23A. Gel filtration and immunodepletion studies suggest that the majority of cytosolic p125A exists as a ternary complex with the Sec13/Sec31A subcomplex, suggesting that Sec 13, Sec31A, and p125A exist in the cytosol primarily as preassembled Sec13/Sec31A/p125A heterohexamers. Golgi morphology and protein export from the ER were affected in p125A-silenced cells. Our results suggest that p125A is part of the Sec13/Sec31A subcomplex and facilitates ER export in mammalian cells.

Cytosolic triacylglycerol labelled from [3H]oleate accounted for almost 50% (57 +/- 22 nmol/mg of protein) of the total cellular triacylglycerol which was newly synthesized by cultured hepatocytes during a 24 h incubation. Insulin decreased the export of triacylglycerol as very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) during this period. This resulted in a sequestration of newly synthesized triacylglycerol in the cytosol, rather than in the particulate fraction of the cell. Longer periods of incubation with [3H]oleate resulted in increased concentrations of newly synthesized triacylglycerol within the cell, most of which (78 +/- 3% after 48 h; 80 +/- 3% after 72 h) was located within the cytosolic fraction. The quantity of newly synthesized triacylglycerol in the cell cytosol was further increased by insulin. During these periods there were decreases in the amounts of triacylglycerol associated with the particulate fraction of the cell, irrespective of the presence or absence of insulin. In no case was a decrease in VLDL triacylglycerol secretion in response to insulin accompanied by an increased triacylglycerol content in the particulate fraction of the cell. In some experiments, the fate of the cytosolic triacylglycerol was studied by pulse labelling with [3H]oleate. In these cases, when insulin was removed from the medium of cells to which they had previously been exposed, more newly synthesized triacylglycerol was secreted compared with cells which had not been exposed to insulin. This extra triacylglycerol was mobilized from the cytosolic rather than from the particulate fraction of the cell. Subsequent addition of insulin to the medium prevented the mobilization of cytosolic triacylglycerol. These results suggest that insulin enhances the storage of hepatocellular triacylglycerol in a cytosolic pool. Deficiency of insulin in the medium stimulates the mobilization of this pool which is channelled into the secretory pathway, entering the extracellular medium as VLDL.

ABSTRACT In yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) and animals, the sulfhydryl oxidase Erv1 functions with Mia40 in the import and oxidative folding of numerous cysteine-rich proteins in the mitochondrial intermembrane space (IMS). Erv1 is also required for Fe-S cluster assembly in the cytosol, which uses at least one mitochondrially derived precursor. Here, we characterize an essential Erv1 orthologue from the protist Trypanosoma brucei (TbERV1), which naturally lacks a Mia40 homolog. We report kinetic parameters for physiologically relevant oxidants cytochrome c and O 2 , unexpectedly find O 2 and cytochrome c are reduced simultaneously, and demonstrate that efficient reduction of O 2 by TbERV1 is not dependent upon a simple O 2 channel defined by conserved histidine and tyrosine residues. Massive mitochondrial swelling following Tb ERV1 RNA interference (RNAi) provides evidence that trypanosome Erv1 functions in IMS protein import despite the natural absence of the key player in the yeast and animal import pathways, Mia40. This suggests significant evolutionary divergence from a recently established paradigm in mitochondrial cell biology. Phylogenomic profiling of genes also points to a conserved role for TbERV1 in cytosolic Fe-S cluster assembly. Conversely, loss of genes implicated in precursor delivery for cytosolic Fe-S assembly in Entamoeba , Trichomonas , and Giardia suggests fundamental differences in intracellular trafficking pathways for activated iron or sulfur species in anaerobic versus aerobic eukaryotes.

Les Cellules Dendritiques (DC) constituent une population de cellules présentatrices d'antigène professionnelles capables d'activer les Lymphocytes T et d'initier une réponse immunitaire adaptative. En plus de leur capacité à présenter des antigènes exogènes et endogènes (du soi ou viraux) respectivement via les Complexes Majeurs d'Histocompatibilité (CMH) de classe II et de classe I, elles peuvent également capturer, apprêter et présenter des antigènes extracellulaires par le CMH-I. Ce processus, appelé Présentation Croisée («cross-presentation» ou PC), peut être réalisé selon deux voies, la voie vacuolaire et la voie cytosolique, majoritaire. Dans cette dernière, les antigènes sont phagocytés/endocytés avant d'être exportés depuis les phago/endosomes vers le cytosol où ils sont dégradés par le protéasome. Les peptides ainsi générés sont ensuite transférés par les transporteurs TAP dans le réticulum endoplasmique ou dans des compartiments intracellulaires, lieux de leur association aux molécules de CMH-I. Cependant, les mécanismes par lesquels les antigènes sont transférés depuis les endosomes/phagosomes vers le cytosol demeurent mal caractérisés. Deux hypothèses sont proposées pour tenter d'expliquer le déroulement de cette étape clé. La première suppose l'implication d'un transporteur tandis que la seconde avance que l'export des antigènes vers le cytosol résulterait d'une perturbation temporaire de la membrane endo/phagosomale. Longtemps rejeté, le modèle de la «rupture membranaire» nécessiterait la mise en oeuvre de mécanismes de réparation compensatoires pour contenir les dommages endomembranaires et ainsi préserver la viabilité cellulaire. Les travaux réalisés au cours de ma thèse ont porté sur l'étude de l'implication du complexe ESCRT-III (Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport), responsable de la réparation des membranes biologiques, dans l'export cytosolique des antigènes et la PC. Nous avons montré que les DC CD8+, sous-population la plus efficace en termes d'export et de PC, présentent un plus grand nombre de dommages intracellulaires que leurs homologues CD11b+, suite à un traitement par une drogue lysosomotropique. Cette susceptibilité accrue quant à la survenue de dommages endomembranaires dans les DC CD8+ corrèle avec le recrutement de différents composants d'ESCRT-III spécifiquement dans les compartiments intracellulaires de cette sous-population de DC. Par ailleurs, dans une lignée de DC CD8+, l'extinction de l'expression de Chmp4b ou de Chmp2a, deux sous-unités effectrices du complexe, conduit à une augmentation drastique de l'export cytosolique d'un antigène modèle ainsi qu'à une amélioration spécifique de l'efficacité de la PC, in vitro et in vivo. Enfin, au regard de l'implication d'ESCRT-III dans la réparation de dommages membranaires causés par la formation de canaux d'octamères de phospho-MLKL au cours de l'induction de la nécroptose, nous avons étudié les interactions entre cette voie de mort cellulaire et l'export cytosolique des antigènes en supposant qu'en l'absence d'ESCRT-III, ces canaux persistent dans les membranes et sont à l'origine d'une perméabilité accrue, pouvant expliquer le phénotype d'export cytosolique. A la suite de l'inhibition pharmacologique de RIPK3, la kinase phosphorylant MLKL, nous observons une forte diminution de l'export cytosolique dans les DC déficientes pour ESCRT-III. Nos résultats démontrent un rôle majeur de la fonction réparatrice d'ESCRT-III dans la régulation de l'export cytosolique des antigènes et de la PC. Ils renforcent l'idée selon laquelle les antigènes sont exportés dans le cytosol des DC à la suite de perturbations membranaires, plutôt que par l'intermédiaire de transporteurs. La découverte de l'importance fonctionnelle d'ESCRT-III dans une voie immunologique illustre la cooptation de mécanismes eukaryotes ancestraux dans des fonctions propres aux vertebrés supérieurs, telles que l'initiation de réponses immunitaires adaptatives
Dendritic cells (DCs) play a central role in immune homeostasis by linking innate signals to adaptive responses. In addition to their capacity to expose exogenous antigens on Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class II molecules or endogenous antigens (derived from self or viral proteins) on MHC class I, they also show a remarkable ability to take-up, process and present extracellular antigens on MHC class I molecules. This process, termed Cross-Presentation (CP) plays a critical role in eliciting Cytotoxic T Cell responses to tumors and pathogens that do not readily infect DCs. So far, two main intracellular pathways have been described for CP, namely the vacuolar and the cytosolic pathways, the latter being predominant in CD8+ DC at homeostasis. The first step of the cytosolic pathway resides in the phagocytosis of exogenous antigens that are subsequently exported into the cytosol, where they are processed by the proteasome. The resulting processed antigens can then be channeled through the TAP transporter into the endoplasmic reticulum or into intracellular compartments where they are loaded on MHC class I. While the contributions of the proteasome and TAP transporter to this process are now well established, the way endocytosed antigens gain access to the cytosol remains unclear and is a long-standing matter of controversy, that confronts two main models: transfer through specific transporters or rupture of endocytic membranes and leakage of luminal content. Although the latter hypothesis has been repeatedly dismissed owing to its presumable lack of control, we reasoned that it could only be operational if membrane damages were contained by effective repair, to preserve cell survival. My PhD work thereby focused on the possible implication of the ESCRT-III (Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport) complex, the main repair system for biological membranes, in antigen export to the cytosol during antigen CP by DCs. We showed that CD8+ DCs, corresponding to the most efficient exporting and cross-presenting DC subset, display higher amounts to intracellular damages triggered by a lysosomotropic drug, compared to their CD11b+ counterparts. This increased susceptibility to intracellular damages in CD8+ DCs correlates with the observed enriched recruitment of ESCRT-III subunits in this DC subset's endocytic compartments, relatively to CD11b+ DCs. Additionally, in a CD8+ DC cell line, silencing of Chmp2a or Chmp4b, two effector subunits of ESCRT-III, enhances cytosolic antigen export, as well as in vitro and in vivo CP, without affecting MHC-II presentation. Finally, in the light of recent studies demonstrating that ESCRT-III is repairing steady-state necroptotic damages formed by channels of phospho-MLKL octamers, we studied interactions between the induction of necroptosis and export to the cytosol in ESCRT-III-silenced cells. We supposed that, in absence of a functional repair system, MLKL channels could persist at biological membranes (plasma or endocytic) and result in increased membrane permeability, possibly explaining the increased antigen export phenotype displayed by ESCRT-III-silenced cells. Indeed, following pharmacological inhibition of RIPK3, the kinase phosphorylating MLKL, we observed a strong reduction of antigen export to the cytosol in ESCRT-III-deficient DCs. Altogether, these results show a critical role for membrane repair in containing cytosolic antigen export and CP in DCs. They identify a new fundamental cellular mechanism involved in antigen CP and strengthen the idea that antigens are exiting intracellular compartments following membrane disruption, rather than through transporters. The discovery of the functional relevance of ESCRT-III in a key immunological pathway illustrates the fascinating co-option of ancestral cellular mechanisms present in early eukaryotes in new crucial functions specifically carried by higher vertebrates, such as the induction of adaptive immune responses

This thesis highlights a divergent mitochondrial intermembrane assembly pathway in the parasitic protist Trypanosoma brucei. A comparative genomic study reveals the connection of Erv1 with the cytosolic iron-sulfur protein assembly (CIA) pathway in trypanosomatids. Further, the CIA machinery of T. brucei has been described using RNAi interference and other biochemical and complementation assays. Finally, part of the divergent CIA machinery has been identified in the human intestinal pathogen Giardia intestinalis by means of complementation assays in T. brucei.

Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) channels mediate Ca2+ influx from the extracellular milieu into the cytosol to regulate a myriad of cellular functions. The Ca2+-release activated Ca2+ current has been well characterized in non-excitable cells such as immune cells. However, the role of SOCE proteins in cardiomyocytes and cardiac function has only been recently investigated. The localized endoplasmic reticulum protein, stromal interaction molecule (STIM) and plasma membrane Ca2+ channels, ORAI form the minimal functional unit of SOCE. The documentation of STIM and Orai expression in cardiomyocytes has raised questions regarding their role in cardiac function. Recent evidence supports the central role of STIM and Orai in gene transcription and, subsequent phenotypic changes associated with cardiac remodeling and hypertrophy. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of our current understanding of SOCE proteins and, to explore their contributions to cardiovascular function and role in cardiac disorders.

Significant evidence suggests that serine/threonine-O-linked N-acetyl glucosamine0-(GlcNAc) modifications play a central role in the regulation of plant signaling networks. Forexample, mutations in SPINDLY,) SPY (an O-GlcNAc transferase,) OGT (promote gibberellin GA) (signal transduction and inhibit cytokinin responses. In addition, mutating both Arabidopsis OGTsSEC (and SPY) causes embryo lethality. The long-term goal of this research is to elucidate the mechanism by which Arabidopsis OGTs regulate signaling networks. This project investigated the mechanisms of O-GlcNAc regulation of cytokinin and gibberellin signaling, identified additional processes regulated by this modification and investigated the regulation of SEC activity. Although SPY is a nucleocytoplasmic protein, its site of action and targets were unknown. Severalstudies suggested that SPY acted in the nucleus where it modified nuclear components such as the DELLA proteins. Using chimeric GFP-SPY fused to a nuclear-export signal or to a nuclear-import signal, we showed that cytosolic, but not nuclear SPY, regulated cytokinin and GA signaling. We also obtained evidence suggesting that GA and SPY affect cytokinin signaling via a DELLA-independent pathway. Although SEC and SPY were believed to have overlapping functions, the role of SEC in cytokinin and GA signaling was unclear. The role of SEC in cytokinin and GA responses was investigated by partially suppressing SPY expression in secplants using a synthetic Spymicro RNA miR(SPY). The possible contribution of SEC to the regulation of GA and cytokinin signaling wastest by determining the resistance of the miR spy secplants to the GA biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol and to cytokinin. We found that the transgenic plants were resistant to paclobutrazol and to cytokinin, butonlyata level similar to spy. Moreover, expressing SEC under the 35S promoter in spy mutant did not complement the spy mutation. Therefore, we believe that SEC does not act with SPY to regulate GA or cytokinin responses. The cellular targets of Spy are largely unknown. We identified the transcription factor TCP15 in a two-hybrid screen for SPY-interacting proteins and showed that both TCP15 and its closely homolog TCP14 were O-GlcNAc modified by bacterially-produced SEC. The significance of the interaction between SPY and these TCPs was examined by over-expressing the minwild-type and spy-4plants. Overexpression of TCP14 or TCP15 in wild-type background produced phenotypes typical of plants with increased cytokinin and reduced GA signaling. TCP14 overexpression phenotypes were strongly suppressed in the spy background, suggesting that TCP14 and TCP15 affect cytokinin and GA signaling and that SPY activates them. In agreement with this hypothesis, we created a tcp14tcp15 double mutant and found that it has defects similar to spyplants. In animals, O-GlcNAc modification is proposed to regulate the activity of the nuclear pore. Therefore, after discovering that SEC modified a nucleoporinNUP) (that also interacts with SPY, we performed genetic experiments exploring the relationship between NUPs and SPY nupspy double mutants exhibited phenotypes consistent with SPY and NUPs functioning in common processes and nupseeds were resistant to GA biosynthesis inhibitors. All eukaryotic OGTs have a TPR domain. Deletion studies with bacterially-expressed SEC demonstrated SEC'sTPR domain inhibits SEC enzymatic activity. Since the TPR domain interacts with other proteins, we propose that regulatory proteins regulate OGT activity by binding and modulating the inhibitory activity of the TPR domain.

Accumulation of citric acid is a major determinant of maturity and fruit quality in citrus. Many citrus varieties accumulate citric acid in concentrations that exceed market desires, reducing grower income and consumer satisfaction. Citrate is accumulated in the vacuole of the juice sac cell, a process that requires both metabolic changes and transport across cellular membranes, in particular, the mitochondrial and the vacuolar (tonoplast) membranes. Although the accumulation of citrate in the vacuoles of juice cells has been clearly demonstrated, the mechanisms for vacuolar citrate homeostasis and the components controlling citrate metabolism and transport are still unknown. Previous results in the PIs’ laboratories have indicated that the expression of a large number of a large number of proteins is enhanced during fruit development, and that the regulation of sugar and acid content in fruits is correlated with the differential expression of a large number of proteins that could play significant roles in fruit acid accumulation and/or regulation of acid content. The objectives of this proposal are: i) the characterization of transporters that mediate the transport of citrate and determine their role in uptake/retrieval in juice sac cells; ii) the study of citric acid metabolism, in particular the effect of arsenical compounds affecting citric acid levels and mobilization; and iii) the development of a citrus fruit proteomics platform to identify and characterize key processes associated with fruit development in general and sugar and acid accumulation in particular. The understanding of the cellular processes that determine the citrate content in citrus fruits will contribute to the development of tools aimed at the enhancement of citrus fruit quality. Our efforts resulted in the identification, cloning and characterization of CsCit1 (Citrus sinensis citrate transporter 1) from Navel oranges (Citrus sinesins cv Washington). Higher levels of CsCit1 transcripts were detected at later stages of fruit development that coincided with the decrease in the juice cell citrate concentrations (Shimada et al., 2006). Our functional analysis revealed that CsCit1 mediates the vacuolar efflux of citrate and that the CsCit1 operates as an electroneutral 1CitrateH2-/2H+ symporter. Our results supported the notion that it is the low permeable citrateH2 - the anion that establishes the buffer capacity of the fruit and determines its overall acidity. On the other hand, it is the more permeable form, CitrateH2-, which is being exported into the cytosol during maturation and controls the citrate catabolism in the juice cells. Our Mass-Spectrometry-based proteomics efforts (using MALDI-TOF-TOF and LC2- MS-MS) identified a large number of fruit juice sac cell proteins and established comparisons of protein synthesis patterns during fruit development. So far, we have identified over 1,500 fruit specific proteins that play roles in sugar metabolism, citric acid cycle, signaling, transport, processing, etc., and organized these proteins into 84 known biosynthetic pathways (Katz et al. 2007). This data is now being integrated in a public database and will serve as a valuable tool for the scientific community in general and fruit scientists in particular. Using molecular, biochemical and physiological approaches we have identified factors affecting the activity of aconitase, which catalyze the first step of citrate catabolism (Shlizerman et al., 2007). Iron limitation specifically reduced the activity of the cytosolic, but not the mitochondrial, aconitase, increasing the acid level in the fruit. Citramalate (a natural compound in the juice) also inhibits the activity of aconitase, and it plays a major role in acid accumulation during the first half of fruit development. On the other hand, arsenite induced increased levels of aconitase, decreasing fruit acidity. We have initiated studies aimed at the identification of the citramalate biosynthetic pathway and the role(s) of isopropylmalate synthase in this pathway. These studies, especially those involved aconitase inhibition by citramalate, are aimed at the development of tools to control fruit acidity, particularly in those cases where acid level declines below the desired threshold. Our work has significant implications both scientifically and practically and is directly aimed at the improvement of fruit quality through the improvement of existing pre- and post-harvest fruit treatments.