Recent Advances in the Regulation of Citric Acid Metabolism in Citrus Fruit

ABSTRACT

The regulation of citric acid metabolism during fruit ripening has a major impact on the production of high-quality fruit. The impact of citric acid on organoleptic fruit quality attributes, fruit storage performance and the synthesis of several secondary metabolites has led to an exponential increase in research efforts during the last two decades. Recent research has focused on the relationship among citric acid biosynthesis, transportation, storage, and utilization. Among citrate metabolic processes, activities of a proton pump, especially the plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase on tonoplast and citrate catabolism in cytosol play important roles in the regulation of citrate accumulation in cell vacuoles. Moreover, we highlight recent advances and provide an overview of citrate metabolism, postharvest physiology of citrate metabolism, and the influence of agro-climatic factors on citrus fruits. It is the first review that provides a comprehensive model for citrate metabolism in citrus fruit juice sacs. We anticipate that this model for the regulation of citrate metabolism will facilitate the study of fruit acidity in citrus and other nonclimacteric fruits.

KEYWORDS:

• Citric acid
• citrus
• fruit quality
• metabolism
• regulation

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Professor Robert M. Larkan (Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, P.R. China) for peer review the manuscript and providing valuable comments and suggestions. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31372012 and 31672098).