The language of calcium in postharvest life of fruits, vegetables and flowers

Calcium (Ca2+) is a secondary messenger that plays pivotal roles in regulating physiological functions in fruits, vegetables and flowers during postharvest life. In fact, Ca2+ and their language of action are potential regulators of postharvest physiology of fruits, vegetables and flowers at cellular level. In the present review, we have focused on recent information that depicts the roles of calcium on cell wall structure, ethylene biosynthesis/signaling, regulation of metabolic pathways such as GABA biosynthesis and AA-GSH cycle, PLD signal transduction and its relation to ethylene, as well as SR/CAMTA transcription factors. The potential for manipulation of targets of calcium for enhancing quality attributes of fruits, vegetables and flowers is discussed. Furthermore, impact of genetic manipulation of fruits such as tomato with enhanced expression of Ca2+/H+ exchanger (sCAX) and pectin methylesterases (PMEs) on blossom end rot (BER) as a calcium deficiency disorder and the potential use of Ca2+/H+ exchanger (sCAX) expression protocols as efficient alternatives to the postharvest calcium treatment for shelf life extension of fruits, vegetables and flowers have also been discussed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.