Characterization of cultivar differences in β-1,3 glucanase gene expression, glucanase activity and fruit pulp softening rates during fruit ripening in three naturally occurring banana cultivars

beta-1,3 glucanase (E.C.3.2.1.39) is the key enzyme involved in the hydrolytic cleavage of 1,3 beta-D glucosidic linkages in beta-1,3 glucans. This work describes a comparative analysis of expression patterns of beta-1,3 glucanase gene in relation to changes in fruit pulp softening rates in three banana cultivars, Rasthali (AAB), Kanthali (AB), and Monthan (ABB). Analysis of transcript and protein levels of beta-1,3 glucanase gene during ripening revealed differential timing in expression of the gene which correlated well with the variation in enzymatic activity of glucanase and fruit pulp softening rates in the three cultivars. Exogenously applied ethylene strongly induced beta-1,3 glucanase expression during the early ripening days in Rasthali, while the expression of the gene was marginally stimulated following ethylene treatment in preclimacteric Kanthali fruit. Conversely, in Monthan, beta-1,3 glucanase expression was very low throughout the ripening stages, and ethylene treatment did not induce the expression of the gene in this cultivar. Analysis of glucanase activity using protein extracts from unripe and ripe fruit of Monthan with crude cell wall polysaccharide fractions (used as substrate) indicated that the natural substrate for glucanase remained almost unutilized in this cultivar due to low in vivo glucanase activity. Furthermore, the recombinant beta-1,3 glucanase protein, overexpressed in E. coli, showed requirement for substrates with contiguous beta-1,3 linkages for optimal activity. Overall, our results provide new information on the expression profile of beta-1,3 glucanase gene in connection with the pattern of changes in fruit firmness at the physiological and molecular levels during ripening in three banana cultivars.