Acúmulo de compostos funcionais e ácido abscísico durante o crescimento e o desenvolvimento de frutos de butiazeiro (Butia odorata) (Barb.Rodr.) Noblick & Lorenzi

Abstract

Butiá is among the native fruits species found in South America (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay), belonging to the Aracaceae family. These fruits are rich with compounds resulting from the specialized metabolism of plants. However, the mechanisms involved in the accumulation of these compounds have not yet been elucidated. Thus, the initial objective of the study was to describe how the synthesis and accumulation of carotenoids occurs during the growth and development of butiá fruits, and its likely relationship with abscisic acid (ABA) synthesis and fruit abscission. However, during the execution of the project, it was necessary to make adjustments to the original proposal. The objective of this work was then to characterize three relevant events during the growth and development of butiás: changes in phenolic compounds, L-ascorbic acid (AsA) and ABA and its derivatives in fruits harvested from three different genotypes and five growth and development stages. With the results obtained, it was possible to observe the phenotypic changes that occurred during the growth and development of the fruits, including color, mass, diameter and height. Thirteen phenolic compounds were identified, most of which showed a reduction in concentration throughout the evaluated stages; only five (syringic acid, ferrulic acid, hesperetin, pinocembrin and methylsyringin) showed the opposite behavior. On the other hand, AsA concentration peaks were observed in intermediate stages and in the last stage evaluated. In addition to AsA, two other acids were detected in butiá fruits: malic acid and citric acid, the first with the highest concentration in these fruits. ABA seems to be an important phytohormone in the maturation of these fruits, since its concentration was detected in the intermediate stages, reaching its peak in the stages of complete maturation and abscission of the fruits. Although these changes differed among accessions, according to the principal component analysis, most changes (69%) are explained by the development and maturation stages of the fruits. The study contributed to having a previous knowledge of the events that involve the process of growth and maturation of the fruits, through the perspective of changes in the concentration of some compounds of specialized metabolism. However, it is necessary to study new metabolic routes, as well as targeted genetic studies.