Methyl jasmonate alleviates the reduced release of aroma‐related esters in ‘Nanguo’ pears by regulating ethylene biosynthesis and signal transduction

Summary Cryopreserved fruits usually develop symptoms, which affects the release of aroma. Our study investigated the impact of exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) upon the synthesis of aromatic esters in ‘Nanguo’ pears after cold storage. It found that exogenous MeJA enhanced ethylene accumulation via improving the activity of 1‐aminocyclopropane‐1‐carboxylic‐acid (ACC) synthase (ACS) and ACC oxidase (ACO) and the expression levels of PuACS1 and PuACO1 . After cryopreservation for 90 days, the ester aroma of ‘Nanguo’ pears was effectively improved by MeJA during normal temperature shelf life. In addition, the expression of PuERS1 , PuETR1 , PuEIN4 , PuEIN2 and PuERF1 in MeJA‐treated fruits were obviously increased. Therefore, we infer that the influence of MeJA on production of aroma‐related esters in ‘Nanguo’ pears is closely connected with ethylene biosynthesis and signal transduction, namely increase activity of ACS and ACO, and upregulation of the expression level of PuACS1 , PuACO1 , PuERS1 , PuETR1 , PuEIN2, PuEIN4 and PuERF1 .