Roles of sorbitol and sucrose in growth and respiration of ‘Encore’ peach fruit in the three developmental stages

In peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch (Peach Group)], both sorbitol and sucrose are utilized for source to sink carbon (C) transport, yet their specific functions in fruit growth and development remain unclear. Growth rate (GR), respiration rate (R), carbohydrate content, and the activities of sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), sorbitol oxidase (SOX), sucrose synthase (SS), acid invertase (AI), and neutral invertase (NI) were determined in ‘Encore’ peach fruit to study the specific functions of sorbitol and sucrose in each phase of fruit development (an early period of rapid cell division, a relatively inactive intermediate stage where endocarp (pit) hardening occurs, and a final swelling due to cell expansion). Fruit growth and respiration rates (mol C/fruit per day) were always positively correlated, but the growth coefficient (gc) relating them was significantly higher at cell division, when maintenance respiration (Rm) was nearly absent. Sorbitol and sucrose appeared to participate equally in growth and maintenance respiration. Contents of sorbitol and sucrose both correlated positively to GR, and their rates of accumulation increased from early to late growth stages in similar fashion. SDH activity was always positively correlated with sink strength and GR, but with R only at endocarp hardening (r = 0.632). SOX activity was also correlated with sink strength and GR in the early (r = 0.514 and 0.553) and late (r = 0.503 and 0.495) growth phases, but not at endocarp hardening, and was correlated with R in two of three growth phases. Among sucrose cleavage enzymes, AI activity was positively correlated with sink strength, GR , and R more strongly than the others (r = 0.51 to 0.80), but only in the cell division and cell expansion periods. SS activity was correlated with sink strength and R only at endocarp hardening, and NI activity was generally not correlated to sink strength, GR, or R. We conclude that sorbitol and sucrose play similar roles in peach fruit development, and the enzymes associated with their metabolism work in concert to produce the observed changes in growth and respiration.