Abstract
Detailed analyses of polysome profiles from lyophilized pulp tissues of pear fruits (Pyrus communis L. cv. Passe-Crassane) at different stages of ripening and senescence, and estimates of the amount of polysomal-associated mRNA, lead to the conclusions that during senescence (ripening), the ripening and the over-ripening processes can clearly be separated and respectively linked to the first and the second increase in the large mRNA species. Ethylene synthesis which occurs at the beginning of a normal ripening at 15 degrees C after a cold storage or an ethephon treatment is related to an increase in mRNA and ribosomal material found only in pulp tissues. Finally, we suggest that in the pear fruit, the sequence of events which occurs during senescence (ripening) is initiated by two systems which regulate ethylene biogenesis, and that the first system is efficient only at low temperatures (from 0 to 4 degrees C).