ABSTRACT
Fruit ripening is a highly coordinated, genetically programmed process occurring at the later stages of maturation and involving a series of physiological, biochemical, and sensory changes leading to the development of an edible ripe fruit with desirable quality parameters (Brady, 1987). Maturation refers to the processes that lead to ripening, and in many cases maturation and ripening overlap in time (Giovannoni, 2001). Specic biochemical and physiological changes vary among species although generally include altered sugar metabolism, softening, color changes, synthesis of aroma volatiles, and increased susceptibility to pathogen infection, suggesting that the underlying genetic mechanisms that regulate fruit ripening are well conserved between fruits of different species (AdamsPhilips et al., 2004; Giovannoni, 2004).
