Polygalactusonase in Strawberry Fruit

Abstract

Strawberry fruit of the Toyonoka variety was picked at three stages of maturity : small green (I), pale green~white (H), and red ripe (M). Polygalacturonase (PG) activity was found at all stages of maturity. Although PG activity was very low, stage III fruit was estimated to have about six times the activity of stage I fruit. The crude enzyme from the red ripe fruit was partially purified by affinity chromatography on a. crosslinked cell wall column prepared from citrus peels, and it was characterized as a mixture of exo- and endo-PG by high performance liquid •chromatographic analysis of the degradation products of pectic acid. Both activities were found also in the red ripe fruits of two other varieties {Hokowase and Nyoho). © 1991, Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry. All rights reserved.