This research compared expression patterns of aquaporin (AQP) genes in two apple cultivars that exhibit contrasting ripening behavior. Commercially-mature apple fruits of cultivars ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Red Fuji’ were chosen as materials. The results showed that compared with ‘Red Fuji’, ‘Golden Delicious’ generally had higher rate of respiration, ethylene production, weight loss, dry matter concentration (DMC), titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS) and soluble sugar contents during ripening. At 35 d, cells in ‘Golden Delicious’ were loosely arranged with larger intercellular space, while in ‘Red Fuji’, cells were still densely packed. A total of 20 AQPs were detected in both cultivars. Expression of these identified genes was in a tissue- and cultivar-specific manner during ripening. Generally, expression of MdAQPs was differentially induced at climacteric stage in peel and flesh tissues of ‘Golden Delicious’. In contrast, expression of most MdAQPs was differentially up-regulated at preclimacteric stage in peel and flesh tissues of ‘Red Fuji’. These results will be useful for further study the relationships between MdAQPs and storability of different apple cultivars.

本研究比较了两个表现出不同成熟行为的苹果品种的水通道蛋白 ( AQP ) 基因的表达模式。选择品种“金冠”和“红富士”的商业成熟苹果果实作为材料。结果表明，与‘红富士’相比，‘金冠’普遍具有较高的呼吸速率、乙烯产量、失重、干物质浓度（DMC）、可滴定酸度（TA）、总可溶性固形物（TSS）和可溶性糖分成熟期间的内容。35 d时，'金冠'细胞排列松散，细胞间隙较大，而'红富士'细胞仍然密集。总共20个AQP在两个品种中都检测到了。这些已鉴定基因的表达在成熟过程中以组织和品种特异性的方式表达。一般来说， MdAQPs的表达在更年期在'金冠'的果皮和果肉组织中被差异诱导。相比之下，大多数MdAQP的表达在'红富士'的果皮和果肉组织的更年期前阶段有差异上调。这些结果将有助于进一步研究MdAQPs与不同苹果品种耐贮性之间的关系。