Metabolism of endogenous nitric oxide during growth and development of apple fruit

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key signaling molecule in different physiological processes of plants. To study the metabolism of endogenous NO in growth and development of apple fruit under normal physiological conditions, the changes of several relative components of NO metabolism including the contents of NO, l-arginine, S-nitrosothiols (RSNOs) and nitrite plus nitrate, the activities of l-arginine-dependent nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and nitrate reductase (NR) were analyzed using vegetal ‘Gold Delicious’ and ‘Fuji’ apples as tested materials. The endogenous NO and l-arginine contents, as well as the l-arginine-dependent NOS activity in young fruit reached the highest value. The NOS activity was dependent on l-arginine and β-NADPH, and inhibited by a well known NOS inhibitor. The NR activity in apple fruit had not been detected. Endogenous NO production depended on l-arginine-dependent NOS but not NR. The content of RSNOs tended to peak in the fruit enlarging period and then declined. Similarly, the nitrate content increased in early stage of fruit growth, but in late stage, it undulated greatly. Compared to RSNOs and nitrate, the change of nitrite content was in accordance with that of endogenous NO. In general, RSNOs and nitrite could reflect the removal mechanism of NO relatively well.