Gamma-radiation Induced Modulation of Physical and Defence Enzymatic Dynamics in Post-harvest Tomato

Gamma-radiation Induced Modulation of Physical and Defence Enzymatic Dynamics in Post-harvest Tomato | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Gamma-radiation Induced Modulation of Physical and Defence Enzymatic Dynamics in Post-harvest Tomato Smritam Maity, Antara Rakshit, Ramita Deb, Krishnendu Acharya, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204178/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Tomato is a world-wide important agricultural crop which is prone to damage due to high water content and also for various biotic and abiotic stress. Gamma-radiation can be a sustainable method to compensate all the stress and improve its overall shelf-life. It can enhance tomato fruits’ post-harvest shelf-life through enhancement of defence enzymes like Polyphenol oxidase (PPO), Peroxidase (PO), Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), overall improvement of Phenol, Flavonoid content, reduction in fungal infection severity and also by reducing weight loss percentage, decay percentage, improving fruit quality. The objective of the experiment to investigate the effects of gamma irradiation on postharvest quality and shelf life of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.). Tomatoes of the local cultivar Pusa Rubi were exposed to different doses of gamma radiation (80 Gy, 100 Gy and 120 Gy) and observed for a storage period of 7 days, 14 days and 21 days. Biochemical, physiological and pathological parameters including phenolic and flavonoid content, defence enzyme activities (PAL, PO, PPO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) accumulation, weight loss, decay percentage, and resistance to Alternaria solani infection were measured. Based on the experiments, the most effective treatment was the 120 Gy dose. This level notably improved the tomatoes' natural defences against fungal attacks and reduced overall waste. The experiment concluded with the outcome that using gamma irradiation at 120 Gy is a promising method for keeping tomatoes fresh longer while preserving their quality after harvest. Defence Enzymes Gamma-radiation Phenol Post-harvest Reactive-oxygen species Tomato Total Soluble Solids Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13 Introduction Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an agricultural crop produced and consumed worldwide (Gyimah et al., 2020 ). Its consumption is second only to the potato as a vegetable (Javanmardi & Kubota, 2006 ). The crop belongs to the Solanaceae family, and it has been originated in the South American Andes (Nicola et al., 2009 ). Though phytologically it is a berry but usually considered as a vegetable for its savoury flavour. It has Organic acids mainly citric acid and other important micronutrients such as Boron, iron, Manganese, carotenoids, vitamins A, B, E and K. (Gyimah et al., 2020 ). It has plenty of minerals, essential amino acids, and dietary fibres. Traditionally various methods have been utilised to help in the post-harvest preservation of fruits and vegetables as it is a noxious challenge for farmers as well as consumer to prevent the rapid decay of these crop products. These are vulnerable to various microbial flora because of their delicate tissue. These therapies include utilization of hot air, blanching, use of chemicals like CaCl 2 etc. Gamma irradiation has emerged as a potent alternative. Radiation involves the emission and propagation of energy through space and can be divided into particle radiation and electromagnetic (EM) radiation. Electromagnetic radiation can be categorized into two main types: ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, cosmic rays, x- rays, and non-ionizing radiation including UV-rays, visible light, infrared etc. Ionizing radiation such as gamma radiation is a technique that can induce genetic mutations in microorganisms(Ali et al., 2015 ) and is considered safe for both the environment as well as for the human health, and it can also be used for different purposes in the food industry (e.g. increasing the shelf life of products, inactivation of spoilage microorganisms and pathogens, pest control and the inhibition of sprouting (Rostami et al., 2024 ). Irradiation is a method and a chemical free approach through which an amount of energy in the form of particle or rays exposed to agricultural crops to reduce the microbial load which can cause post-harvest losses and used to increase the shelf life and improve some nutritional qualities in particular tomato variety. Gamma radiation used as a post-harvest crop preservation procedure for several years because it is a high-frequency rays which can effectively induce mutation in consisting of high-energy protons that enters the cell and cause ionization emitted by radioactive isotopes like Cobalt 60 (Ali et al., 2015 ). Gamma rays are generally dose dependent, where a low dose has lesser side effects and a comparatively high dose can affect plant morphology, plant anatomy and cellular biochemistry (Wi et al., 2007 ). Ionization causes disturbance in the normal processes of the plant cells ultimately affecting crop production. Ionizing radiation induces DNA damage, a significant event that affects all living organisms. It has been reported that irradiation can cause several types of DNA damage, including oxidative damage from the direct encounter of ionizing radiation with DNA molecules, hydrolytic damage, misincorporation of bases during replication, and damage caused by alkylating agents (Jeong & Jeong, 2018 ). However, there are many parameters present to diagnose the damage caused by this radiation. Under a low dose of gamma rays plant defence mechanism such as LAR and SAR is activated to withstand the damage. Radiation has proved to be productive for managing post-harvest crop losses caused by necrotrophic fungi. They can demolish cells using mycotoxins (toxic secondary metabolites of fungi) or cell-wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs). Aspergillus, Botrytis, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Alternaria, Geotrichum, Gloeosporium, Monilinia, Mucor, Penicillium and Rhizopus are the main fungal genera known to produce mycotoxins and cause postharvest diseases. The primary aim of this study was to understand the potential of gamma radiation as a post-harvest treatment for enhancing safety and quality control of tomatoes. It is a promisable technique to modify or reshuffling the genetic core of the plants. This technique has potential to be a viable alternative to traditional breeding for incorporating desirable traits into crops. Furthermore, whether used alone or in conjunction with other techniques, gamma radiation can significantly reduce microbial decay and spoilage during storage. Over the last few decades, there has been extensive research into using radiation particularly gamma rays to develop superior, economically important crop varieties. Materials and Methods Plant Material: The experiments were carried out using local cultivar (Pusa Rubi) of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruits. Fruits were maintained throughout the experiment in an ambient temperature (15ºC to 18ºC) at Scottish Church College, Kolkata inside a refrigerated fruit and vegetable tray. Gamma-irradiation process: The source of gamma irradiation process was available at Bidhan Chandra Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (BCKV, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India). The irradiation process was performed inside a GC-5000 gamma-irradiation chamber with 60 Co source. All the fruit samples were transported to irradiation facility in a shielded and protected ice bucket with few ices to protect from damages and back to laboratory of Scottish church college following the same manner. All the tomato fruits were irradiated with the doses of 80 Gy, 100 Gy and 120 Gy with a dose rate of 2.535 kGy/hr. Comparison of Irradiated and Non-irradiated tomato samples: Two more or less similar size tomato fruits of the cultivar of each dose after treatment was kept at the desired temperature (15℃-18℃) at was observed after each week. This process was continued till 3 weeks, and the rotting and ripening was captured as photograph after every week. Percentage of Weight loss Determination: Percentage of weight loss in tomato fruits was determined directly every 7 days till 3 weeks according to the equation, W 1 = [(W 0 -W t )/ W 0 ]×100%; where W 1 is denoted as % of weight Loss, W 0 is initial weight of fruits at harvested and W t is the weight of fruits at the designated time. The process was followed by Adam et al., ( 2014 ). Percentage of Decay Determination: Decay (%) was determined following the method of(García et al., 2016 ) with slight modification. The number of spoiled tomatoes or necrotic tomatoes were noted in each 7 days till 3 weeks and the decay percentage was calculated for each 7 days in each dose based on the following formula. Decay % = \(\:\frac{\text{T}\text{h}\text{e}\:\text{n}\text{u}\text{m}\text{b}\text{e}\text{r}\:\text{o}\text{f}\:\text{n}\text{e}\text{c}\text{r}\text{o}\text{t}\text{i}\text{c}\:\text{o}\text{r}\:\text{m}\text{o}\text{l}\text{d}\text{e}\text{d}\:\text{o}\text{r}\:\text{s}\text{p}\text{o}\text{i}\text{l}\text{e}\text{d}\:\text{t}\text{o}\text{m}\text{a}\text{t}\text{o}\text{e}\text{s}}{\text{T}\text{h}\text{e}\:\text{n}\text{u}\text{m}\text{b}\text{e}\text{r}\:\text{o}\text{f}\:\text{t}\text{o}\text{t}\text{a}\text{l}\:\text{t}\text{o}\text{m}\text{a}\text{t}\text{o}\text{e}\text{s}}\) × 100 Enzyme Assays: 250 mg fruit tissues were collected from the different sets of treatment and extracted by adding 0.1% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and 20 µL of 1 mM phenyl methyl sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) in 2 mL of 0.1 M of sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) for peroxidase (PO) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO); and also 0.1 M sodium borate buffer (pH 8.7) for phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). The full extraction procedures were performed at 4°C and the homogenate was centrifuged at 12,000 rpm at 4°C for 20 min. The supernatant that was obtained used as the crude enzyme source (Chakraborty et al., 2017 );(Chakraborty et al., 2019 ). The PO enzyme test was done using the process from (HEMEDA & KLEIN, 1990 ), with a few small changes where the reaction mix was created using 2.95 mL of substrate (mixing 5 mL of 0.3% H 2 O 2 , 5 mL of 0.1% guaiacol, and 50 mL of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer at pH 6.5) and 0.05 mL of enzyme taken out. The changes in absorbance was checked at 470 nm for 0–3 minutes, every 30 seconds, using a UV–Vis spectrophotometer. Enzyme activity was shown as µmol min − 1 mg − 1 of protein (E = 26.6 mM − 1 cm − 1 ). PPO activity was measured using the method created by (Kumar & Khan, 1982 ). The test solution was made by mixing 1.6 mL of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.5), 1.4 mL of 0.1 M catechol, and 0.5 mL of the unrefined enzyme sample. Next, the test solution was left to sit for 30 minutes at normal room temperature, and the reactions were stopped by adding 1 mL of 2.5 N H 2 SO 4 . Absorption measurement was taken at 495 nm and the activity was expressed in U min − 1 mg − 1 of protein (U= Change in 0.1 absorbance min − 1 mg − 1 protein). PAL activity was assessed by the method of (Dickerson et al., 1984 ). Measurement was taken at 290 nm and the expression of enzymatic activity synthesis of trans cinnamic acid (in nmol quantities) min − 1 mg − 1 protein by conversion rate from l-phenylalanine. Here, the reaction mixture was prepared by adding substrate (1.4 mL of 0.1 M borate buffer with pH 8.7 and 0.5 mL of 12 mM l-phenyl alanine) with 0.1 mL of enzyme and incubated for 1 h at room temperature. Estimation of Total Protein Content The total protein content was evaluated by standard Bradford assay(Bradford, 1976 ) ,using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as standard. Estimation of Total Phenol and Total Flavonoid Content The total phenol and flavonoid content were assessed by the method of(Zieslin & Ben Zaken, 1993 ) and (Chang et al., 2002 ), respectively. For phenol, absorbance was set at 725 nm and expressed as µg gallic acid equivalents g − 1 fruit tissue. The flavonoid content was measured at 415 nm absorbance and expressed as µg quercetin equivalents g − 1 of the fresh fruit tissue. Estimation of Hydrogen Peroxide (H 2 0 2 ) and Reactive-oxygen species (ROS) Estimation of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 0 2 ) on tomato fruit skin was performed by DAB staining following the method of(Thordal-Christensen et al., 1997 ) after 3 weeks. After the decolouration of the fruit skin with the help of glacial acetic acid and ethanol (1:3), the skins of each treatment irradiation dose were immersed in a DAB (3,3’-Diaminobenzidine) solution for 24 hrs incubated in dark condition. Then the skins were observed under the microscope. Real time ROS generation was detected fluorescence intensity through Floid Cell Imaging station microscope (Life technologies) by using 2’, 7’- Dichlorofluoroscin diacetate dye (DCF-DA) (Watkins et al., 2017 ). ROS production was detected by amount of green fluorescence. Mean fluorescence intensity was measured in ImageJ software (imageJ.nih.gov/ij) and listed. Physio-chemical Analysis Total soluble solids (TSS) were measured directly from the fruit juice using Krus hand refractometer (model Labart/LRB-32) at 20°C and expressed as percent or degree Brix (AOAC, 1990). Preparation of Fungal Spore-suspension Pure culture of Alternaria solani was collected from Banaras Hindu University, Banaras, UP. Fungal inoculum was prepared from A . solani according to(Manzo et al., 2016 ) and (Chakraborty et al., 2019 ). Culture filtrate was collected by passing the culture broth through Whatman No. 1 filter paper after proper scrapping inside a laminar air-flow and allowed to centrifuge the filtrate solution at 5,000 rpm for 15 min. The centrifuged supernatant of filtrate was filtered twice via 0.22 mm membrane filter and finally denoted as the fungal spore suspension. The concentration of spore suspension was adjusted to 1×10 5 -1×10 6 spores/ml following the method of (Avin & Cropscience, 2019 ). Characteristics of the spores were also observed under the microscope. Inoculation of Fungal Pathogen to healthy Fruit The prepared specific concentration (1×10 5 -1×10 6 spores/ml) of A. solani spore suspension was inoculated into fresh tomato fruit following the method of (Sbodio et al., 2024 ). After washing the fresh fruits from each separated control and treated doses, 10 µl from the above spore suspension was micro-injected inside the intact fruit tissue through the micro-wound created on the fruit skin. Inoculated fruits were kept in an aerated jar and stored in incubator where average temperature of 20ºC was maintained. The occurrence of the disease symptoms was observed till 3 weeks or until at least one lesion was formed. Statistical Analysis All the statistical analysis were performed dividing the subset in respect to days and One-way-Anova was performed to all parametric dataset at the significance level, P < 0.05 in the software, SPSS (version 23). Tukey HSD test was performed after ANOVA to find out statistically significant differences. Graphs were prepared in GraphPad Prism 10. Results and Discussion Comparison of Irradiated and Non-irradiated Tomato Samples A visual assessment of tomato fruits from a local variety subjected to varying doses of gamma irradiation (80 Gy, 100 Gy, 120 Gy, and 140 Gy) was performed over a period of 21 days. Non-irradiated control fruits began to show visible spoilage by the 14th day, with approximately 50% damage evident by the 21st day. Fruits irradiated at 80 Gy exhibited delayed deterioration compared to the control, retaining better firmness and fewer visible symptoms of decay. In 100 Gy-treated samples, deterioration occurred more rapidly than in 80 Gy, indicating a reduced preservation effect. 120 Gy proved most effective in extending shelf life, with minimal signs of spoilage towards the end of the 21-day period. However, at 140 Gy, fruits exhibited rapid softening, discoloration, and fungal colonization, indicating that this dose was detrimental and resulted in worse outcomes than even the non-irradiated control. Percentage of weight loss The 120 Gy treatment demonstrated optimal effectiveness in reducing weight loss (1.37% vs control 1.55% in average at 21 days), suggesting improved moisture retention. These results (Fig. 2 ) are consistent with existing research on gamma irradiation's dose-dependent effects on postharvest quality.Adam et al., (2013) reported similar findings, noting that irradiated fruits exhibited greater viability compared to the control. Gamma radiation reduces ethylene synthesis related genes which leads to late ripening and lessen weight loss (Yoon et al., 2023 ), similar phenomena also observed in strawberries (Panou et al., 2020 ).Though, negligible differences in weight loss were observed among fruits treated with the three irradiation doses of 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 kGy (Gyimah et al., 2020 ). However, at higher irradiation doses, weight loss may increase (Bhattarai & Gautam, 2006 );(Gyimah et al., 2020 ).This phenomenon can be ascribe to the physiological characteristics of climacteric fruits, which generate heat during respiration. Under ambient conditions, the rate of heat generation is accelerated due to increased respiration, leading to enhanced water evaporation and, consequently, rapid weight loss (Davies & Hobson, 1981 );(Padmini, 2006 ). Decay Percentage The results demonstrate a clear dose-dependent effect of gamma irradiation on tomato decay rates. The 120 Gy treatment showed the most effective preservation, with only 13.3% decay in average after 21 days compared to 53.3% average in control samples. The complete prevention of decay at 14 days for the 120 Gy treatment (0%) compared to in average 20% decay in control samples (Fig. 3 ) indicate that this dose may be particularly effective for long-term storage applications. Similar results observed by (Yoon et al., 2023 ) in tomatoes and (Panou et al., 2020 ) in strawberries. Phenol After 7 days post irradiation the phenol content peaked at 80 Gy compared to control and all other doses. But after 14 days the phenol content was high at 120 Gy with respect to control and other doses. A similar trend was also observed at 21 days where phenol content peaked at 120 Gy (Fig. 4 ). During the initial phase of fruit ripening the total phenolic content increases to manage the oxidative stress. However, the phenol content decreases subsequently and higher doses of gamma radiation treatment also negatively affect the total phenolic content (Raffo et al., 2002 );(M. Kumar et al., 2014 );(Song et al., 2011 );(Shahbaz et al., 2014 ). Schindler et al., ( 2005 ) mentioned the changes due to gamma radiation is negligible than the natural variation of traditional tomatoes already have. In contrast reports in cherry tomato (Guerreiro et al., 2016 ), cara cara (Lu et al., 2023 ), guava (Hossain et al., 2014) show positive results in irradiated fruits than the control ones. Accumulation of phenolic compounds depends on many factors, like ripening time, storage, temperature etc. Some study shows irradiation can effectively regulate the phenolic contents and other secondary metabolites accumulation with enzyme activities and gene expression of PAL/ C4H (Yang et al., 2019 );(Zhang et al., 2021 ). Flavonoids Gamma-radiation significantly influenced the flavonoid content in tomato fruits over time. Among the different radiation doses tested, 120 Gy exhibited the highest flavonoid accumulation. At 7 days post-irradiation, the flavonoid content peaked at 120 Gy with 0.474 µg quercetin/mg tissue, which was significantly greater than the control and other doses. A similar pattern was observed at 14 days, where the contents slightly decreased but remained highest (0.426 µg quercetin/mg tissue) at 120 Gy compared to control and other doses. This elevated level remained comparatively high (133.69 µg quercetin/g tissue) also at 120 Gy in 21 days. Similar results were found in eggplants where flavonoids content increased at 50 Gy (Aly et al., 2019 ). Compared to this ionizing radiation showed negative results on flavonoid contents of chestnuts (Carocho et al., 2013 ). As the flavonoids are a big part of phenolic compounds different body parts of fruits shows different results of accumulation and higher doses of irradiation may affect it negatively as well (Schindler et al., 2005 ). PAL Graphical representation of PAL enzyme activity indicates marked increase in activity at control and 80 Gy (Fig. 6 ). But after 14 days, the PAL content was high in 80 Gy compared to other doses and after 21 days it peaked at 120 Gy (Fig. 6 ). The results demonstrate a dynamic response of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity to gamma irradiation in tomato fruits. The control and 80 Gy treatments showed the highest initial PAL activity (3591.90 and 3597.29 mol/ml/min/mg protein at 7 days, respectively). This pattern continued at 14 days, where 80 Gy exhibited the highest PAL activity (3108.41 mol/ml/min/mg protein). By 21 days post-irradiation, PAL activity peaked at 120 Gy (2981.05 mol/ml/min/mg protein), surpassing both control (2103.96 mol/ml/min/mg protein) and other irradiated samples. PAL is important predecessor of the phenylpropanoid pathway. So, its enhanced production by irradiation also affects the phenolic compounds and flavonoid production as well (Paul et al., 2022 ). In this study a dynamic response of PAL activity is observed. Which also justifies similar data obtained from phenolic and flavonoid contents. However, dose dependent response was observed in egg plant ( Solanum melongena L.) (Aly et al., 2019 ) and green onion (Jimenez et al., 2011 ) where maximum activity of PAL observed at 50 Gy and 70Gy respectively. PO The PO content was significantly higher at control with respect to all the other doses till 14 days. After 21 days the PO content peaked at 120 Gy compared to other doses. The control (non-irradiated) samples consistently showed the highest PO activity at 7 days and 14 days, suggesting that irradiation suppresses PO in the short term (Fig. 7 ) . By 21 days, PO activity peaked at 120 Gy, exceedingly even the control. This delayed increase suggests a stress-induced upregulation of PO, possibly due to accumulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggering defence responses. PO content depends on many factors like temperature, ripening time and which part of the fruit body is observed. Similar trend of results can be like PPO in case of PO since both have a prime role in plant defence through lignification (Ralph et al., 2008 ). PPO At 7 days post irradiation, the polyphenol oxidase content in tomato fruits was high in control among all the other doses tested. A similar trend was observed at 14 days where polyphenol oxidase content was high in control. After 21 days, polyphenol oxidase content peaked at 120 Gy with respect to other doses (Fig. 8 ). The observed variations in polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity in tomato fruits following irradiation suggest a dose- and time-dependent response. At 7- and 14-days post-irradiation, the control group exhibited the highest PPO content compared to irradiated samples, indicating that lower or no irradiation may initially maintain higher enzyme activity. Similar result was found in eggplant (Aly et al., 2019 ), citrus (Oufedjikh et al., 2000 ), pepper (Taha & Shoaib, 2021 ) and green onion (Jimenez et al., 2011 ) where lower doses of irradiation show higher PPO content than higher doses. However, in other studies insignificant differences were observed by irradiation (Falguera et al., 2011 );(Taha & Shoaib, 2021 ). H 2 O 2 Detection by DAB staining DAB staining was implemented to assess hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) accumulation in tomato tissues subjected to varying doses of gamma radiation. In the control sample, very negligible H₂O₂ accumulation was observed, as evidenced by the uniform yellowish appearance with no prominent brown patches. In the 80 Gy and 100 Gy-treated sample, slight H₂O₂ accumulation was evident (Fig. 9 ), with one distinctly stained brown region. Interestingly, at 120 Gy, H₂O₂ accumulation was again minimal and comparable to control (Fig. 9 ), with no clearly defined stained regions. Fruits exposure to gamma rays to a certain level increases H₂O₂ content due the stress response mechanism. When fruits are exposed to increased doses of gamma rays, the reverse effect occurs because antioxidant systems (such as CAT and APX) quickly nullifies the stress, resulting in reduced overall oxidative damage than in untreated, aging fruits (Kumar et al., 2014 ). Formation of H₂O₂ also depends on the potential oxygen concentration of the fruit during irradiation (Colletti et al., 2024 ). Real time Detection of ROS by DCF-DA staining The accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in gamma-irradiated tomato peel tissues was assessed using DCFDA fluorescence staining and quantified using ImageJ software. The non-irradiated control sample exhibited a fluorescence intensity of approx. 10.218, reflecting minimal ROS accumulation under normal conditions. Exposure to 80 Gy resulted in a fluorescence intensity of 8.377, indicating enhanced ROS generation. At 100 Gy, the intensity was recorded at approx. 8.504, slightly higher than 80 Gy. A comparable level of ROS was observed at 120 Gy, with a fluorescence value of around 7.549. Gamma radiation causes a spike in ROS, followed by a decline due to induced antioxidant mechanisms. The upregulation of scavenging enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX) increases the antioxidative capacity and reduces oxidative stress, thereby mediating the physicochemical changes that delay fruit ripening and softening (Kumar et al., 2014 ). A table (Table.1) has been prepared on the basis of mean fluorescence intensity measured in ImageJ software. Table 1 Quantification comparison of mean fluorescence intensity of different 𝛄-irraddiated tomatoes Dose Mean Fluorescence Intensity Non-irradiated control 10.218 ± 0.03 c 80 Gy 8.377 ± 0.02 b 100 Gy 8.504 ± 0.04 b 120 Gy 7.549 ± 0.01 a Total Soluble Solids (T.S.S) through Degree Brix Measurement Here the influence of different gamma radiation doses on the degree brix (ºBrix) which indicates the soluble sugar content in tomato fruits after 3 weeks. The highest degree brix was observed at 80 Gy which was slightly higher than the non-irradiated control. Then the total º brix was reduced in 100 Gy which was lower than control and in 120 Gy, º brix content was lowest among all the other doses (Fig. 11 ). According toAmbika et al., ( 2019 ) the TSS content reduction in irradiated ones likely caused by delay in ripening and senescence. Similar data was also obtained in custard apple (Ambika et al., 2019 ), raspberries (Guimarães et al., 2013 ), guava (Hossain et al., 2014), papaya (Arundathi, 2018). Generally, radiation did not affect TSS as much as temperature does in stored tomatoes (Prakash et al., 2002 );(Akter and Khan2012); (Gyimah et al., 2020 ). In case of other fruits like dragon fruit stored in 10ºC (Wall & Khan, 2008 ), cucumber (Khalili et al., 2017 ), cara cara ( Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck)(Lu et al., 2023 ) irradiation did not show much effect on TSS value as well. Spore characteristics of A. solani The morphological characteristics of Alternaria solani conidia were examined under a light microscope following the preparation of a spore suspension. The conidia appeared dark brown to black in coloration and exhibited distinctive shapes, primarily club-shaped to obclavate with a pronounced beaked structure (Fig. 12 - a & b). Both transverse and longitudinal septation were clearly visible (Fig. 12 -c), which is a key taxonomic feature of this fungal species. Additionally, most conidia possessed a long, tapering apical beak, as observed in Fig. 12 - d. The microscopic examination confirmed the identity of A. solani based on well-established morphological criteria. The conidia are typically large, multicellular, and darkly pigmented, often with both transverse and longitudinal septa, which is characteristic of the genus Alternaria . The presence of a long apical beak is a diagnostic feature used to differentiate A. solani from closely related species (Rotem, 1994 );(Simmons, 2007). These structural traits play a critical role in the pathogenicity of the fungus, facilitating adhesion to the host surface and aiding in spore dispersal. Visualization of Symptoms on Healthy tomato fruits by A. solani Tomato fruits from different gamma-irradiated treatments were inoculated with A. solani and assessed for lesion development after 14–15 days. Clear variation was observed in lesion diameters among the treatments. The control exhibited prominent lesion formation, indicating higher susceptibility to the pathogen. In contrast, the 120 Gy treatment showed the least lesion development, suggesting enhanced resistance. Fruits irradiated at 80 Gy and 100 Gy displayed moderate lesion sizes, falling between the control and 120 Gy treatment (Fig. 13 ). Gamma radiation damages the DNA and enzymes of microorganisms and inhibit its growth (Lado & Yousef, 2002 ). This study shows that gamma irradiation reduces the microbial growth in a dose dependent manner which is also concurred with a previous study conducted by Yoon et al., ( 2023 ) Conclusion A comprehensive evaluation of gamma irradiation effects on tomato fruits was conducted using multiple physiological, biochemical, and pathological parameters. Key assessments included defence enzyme activities PAL, PO, PPO, phenolic and flavonoid content (via spectrophotometry), degree Brix, weight loss, decay percentage, cell death (via Evans Blue), ROS and H₂O₂ accumulation (via DCF-DA and DAB staining), and pathogen response after A. solani inoculation. The cumulative results clearly demonstrate that a dose of 120 Gy provided the most beneficial outcomes across parameters—enhancing biochemical defence, minimizing spoilage, and improving resistance to fungal infection. Doses of 80 Gy and 100 Gy also showed moderate improvements over the control. Thus, 120 Gy emerges as the optimal dose for prolonging shelf life and enhancing postharvest quality in tomatoes through gamma irradiation. Declarations Conflict of Interest Authors have no conflict of interest. Author Contribution 1, 2 & 3 wrote the main manuscript , 1 & 5 investigated all the data and made acquisition, 4 & 5 supervised the research and all the methodologies. Acknowledgement The authors are grateful to RNARC, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Nadia, for granting access to the Gamma-irradiation facility. The authors extend their deepest appreciation to Dr. Sutanu Sarkar, Assistant professor in Genetics and Plant breeding, Radiological safety officer, Bidhan chandra krishi viswavidyalaya for his expert supervision and operation of the irradiation unit. The respective authors acknowledge their respective funding sources: UGC-DAE-CSR (CRS/2022-23/02/832) for S. Maity and N. Chakraborty, and CSIR-HRDG for A. Rakshit. Authors are also thankful to the DST-FIST Programme -SR/FST/College-/2023/1486(G), Govt. of India, for infrastructural support, and Dr. Madhumanjari Mandal, Principal of Scottish Church College, for her administrative assistance. References M.Y. Adam, H.A. Elbashir, A. Ahmed, R. Halim., Effect of Gamma Radiation on Tomato Quality during Storage and Processing. Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci. 6 (1), 20–25 (2014). https://doi.org/10.19026/crjbs.6.5493 H. Ali, Z. Ghori, S. Sheikh, A. Gul, (2015). Effects of gamma radiation on crop production. In Crop Production and Global Environmental Issues (pp. 27–78). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23162-4_2 A. Aly, N. Eliwa, M. AbdEl-Megid, Stimulating Effect of Gamma Radiation on Some Active Compounds in Eggplant Fruits. Egypt. J. Radiation Sci. Appl. 0 (0), 0–0 (2019). https://doi.org/10.21608/ejrsa.2019.10024.1066 C.P. Ambika, V. Joshi, T.S. Kumar, C.R. Goud, Combined Effect of Gamma Irradiation and Post-Harvest Treatments on Quality and Shelf Life of Custard Apple (Annona squamosa L.) cv. Balanagar. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. Appl. Sci. 8 (07), 2731–2743 (2019). https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.807.335 F. Avin, B. Cropscience, (2019). Easy way to count spores and prepare spore suspension by Hemocytometer. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337772212 D.R. Bhattarai, D.M. Gautam, Effect of Harvesting Method and Calcium on Post Harvest Physiology of Tomato. Nepal. Agric. Res. J. 7 , 37–41 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3126/NARJ.V7I0.1864 M.M. Bradford, A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal. Biochem. 72 , 248–254 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-2697(76)90527-3 M. Carocho, L. Barros, A.L. Antonio, J.C. Barreira, A. Bento, I. Kaluska, I.C. Ferreira, Analysis of organic acids in electron beam irradiated chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.): Effects of radiation dose and storage time. Food Chem. Toxicol. 55 , 348–352 (2013) N. Chakraborty, S. Chandra, K. Acharya, (2017). Biochemical basis of improvement of defense in tomato plant against Fusarium wilt by CaCl2. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 2017 23:3, 23(3), 581–596. https://doi.org/10.1007/S12298-017-0450-Y N. Chakraborty, K. Mukherjee, A. Sarkar, K. Acharya, Interaction between bean and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides: Understanding through a biochemical approach. Plants. 8 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8090345 C.C. Chang, M.H. Yang, H.M. Wen, J.C. Chern, Estimation of total flavonoid content in propolis by two complementary colometric methods. J. Food Drug Anal. 10 , 178–182 (2002). https://doi.org/10.38212/2224-6614.2748 A.C. Colletti, G.I. Denoya, S.R. Vaudagna, G.A. Polenta, Novel Applications of Gamma Irradiation on Fruit Processing. Curr. Food Sci. Technol. Rep. 2 (1), 55–64 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43555-024-00016-w J.N. Davies, G.E. Hobson, The constituents of tomato fruit–the influence of environment, nutrition, and genotype. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 15 (3), 205–280 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398109527317 D.P. Dickerson, S.F. Pascholati, A.E. Hagerman, L.G. Butler, R.L. Nicholson, Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and hydroxycinnamate: CoA ligase in maize mesocotyls inoculated with Helminthosporium maydis or Helminthosporium carbonum. Physiol. Plant Pathol. 25 , 111–123 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1016/0048-4059(84)90050-X V. Falguera, J. Pagán, A. Ibarz, Effect of UV irradiation on enzymatic activities and physicochemical properties of apple juices from different varieties. LWT - Food Sci. Technol. 44 (1), 115–119 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LWT.2010.05.028 M. Fuad Hossain, K. Parvez, M. Kamruzzaman Munshi, I. Khalil, R. Huque, (2014). Effect of radiation and chemical treatments on guava (Psidium guajava L.) to delay ripening in relation to organoleptic biochemical and microbiological properties. In Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App Sci. ( 3 , Issue 12). http://www.ijcmas.com J.F. García, M. Olmo, J.M. García, Decay incidence and quality of different citrus varieties after postharvest heat treatment at laboratory and industrial scale. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 118 , 96–102 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2016.03.019 D. Guerreiro, J. Madureira, T. Silva, R. Melo, P.M.P. Santos, A. Ferreira, M.J. Trigo, A.N. Falcão, F.M.A. Margaça, C. Verde, S, Post-harvest treatment of cherry tomatoes by gamma radiation: Microbial and physicochemical parameters evaluation. Innovative Food Sci. Emerg. Technol. 36 , 1–9 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2016.05.008 I.C. Guimarães, E.G.T. Menezes, de P.S. Abreu, A.C. Rodrigues, P.R.S. Borges, L.R. Batista, M.A. Cirilo, L.C. de Lima, O. (2013). Physicochemical and microbiological quality of raspberries (Rubus idaeus) treated with different doses of gamma irradiation. Food Science and Technology, 33(2), 316–322. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-20612013005000040 L.A. Gyimah, H.M. Amoatey, R. Boatin, V. Appiah, B.T. Odai, The impact of gamma irradiation and storage on the physicochemical properties of tomato fruits in Ghana. Food Qual. Saf. 4 , 151–157 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/FQSAFE/FYAA017 H.M. Hemeda, B.P. Klein, Effects of Naturally Occurring Antioxidants on Peroxidase Activity of Vegetable Extracts. J. Food Sci. 55 (1), 184–185 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1365-2621 . 1990.TB06048.X;PAGEGROUP:STRING:PUBLICATION J. Javanmardi, C. Kubota, Variation of lycopene, antioxidant activity, total soluble solids and weight loss of tomato during postharvest storage. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 41 , 151–155 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2006.03.008 M.A. Jeong, R.D. Jeong, Applications of ionizing radiation for the control of postharvest diseases in fresh produce: recent advances. Plant. Pathol. 67 (1), 18–29 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1111/PPA.12739 L. Jimenez, E. Alarcón, C. Trevithick-Sutton, N. Gandhi, J.C. Scaiano, Effect of γ-radiation on green onion DNA integrity: Role of ascorbic acid and polyphenols against nucleic acid damage. Food Chem. 128 (3), 735–741 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FOODCHEM.2011.03.098 K.Arundathi. (2018). Studies on the effect of gamma irradiation and different wrapping materials on shelf life and quality of papaya ( Carica papaya L.) Cv. Taiwan, Http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810127863 R. Khalili, N. Ayoobian, M. Jafarpour, B. Shirani, The effect of gamma irradiation on the properties of cucumber. J. Food Sci. Technol. 54 (13), 4277 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/S13197-017-2899-7 E. Koch, A. Slusarenko, Arabidopsis is susceptible to infection by a downy mildew fungus. Plant. Cell. 2 , 437–445 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.2.5.437 K.B. Kumar, P.A. Khan, (1982) Peroxidase and Polyphenol Oxidase in Excised Ragi (Eleusine coracana cv. PR 202) Leaves during Senescence. Indian Journal of Experimental Botany, 20, 412–416. - References - Scientific Research Publishing. (n.d.). Retrieved December 19, 2025, from https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=1315287 M. Kumar, S. Ahuja, A. Dahuja, R. Kumar, B. Singh, Gamma radiation protects fruit quality in tomato by inhibiting the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ethylene. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 301 (3), 871–880 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3234-7 B.H. Lado, A.E. Yousef, Alternative food-preservation technologies: efficacy and mechanisms. Microbes Infect. 4 (4), 433–440 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1286-4579(02)01557-5 Q. Lu, D. Yang, S. Xue, Effects of postharvest gamma irradiation on quality maintenance of Cara Cara navel orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) during storage. LWT. 184 , 115017 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LWT.2023.115017 D. Manzo, F. Ferriello, G. Puopolo, A. Zoina, D. D’Esposito, L. Tardella, A. Ferrarini, M.R. Ercolano, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici induces distinct transcriptome reprogramming in resistant and susceptible isogenic tomato lines. BMC Plant. Biology 2016. 16 (1), 53 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/S12870-016-0740-5 S. Nicola, G. Tibaldi, E. Fontana, Tomato production systems and their application to the tropics. Acta Hort. 821 , 27–33 (2009). https://doi.org/10.17660/actahortic.2009.821.1 H. Oufedjikh, M. Mahrouz, M.J. Amiot, M. Lacroix, Effect of gamma-irradiation on phenolic compounds and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity during storage in relation to peel injury from peel of Citrus clementina hort. Ex. tanaka. J. Agric. Food Chem. 48 (2), 559–565 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1021/JF9902402 T. Padmini, Studies on Storage Behaviour of Tomatoes Coated With Chitosan-Lysozyme Films [Master of Science] (McGill University, Montreal,Quebec, Canada, 2006), p. 13 A.A. Panou, I.K. Karabagias, K.A. Riganakos, Effect of Gamma-Irradiation on Sensory Characteristics, Physicochemical Parameters, and Shelf Life of Strawberries Stored under Refrigeration. Int. J. Fruit Sci. 20 (2), 191–206 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2019.1608890 A. Paul, N. Shamim, K. Acharya, N. Chakraborty, Twin effects of fungal elicitor produced from Alternaria alternata on induced systemic resistance and secondary metabolites production in Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. Plant. Stress. 6 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stress.2022.100124 A. Prakash, J. Manley, S. DeCosta, F. Caporaso, D. Foley, The effects of gamma irradiation on the microbiological, physical and sensory qualities of diced tomatoes. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 63 (3–6), 387–390 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-806X(01)00529-1 A. Raffo, C. Leonardi, V. Fogliano, P. Ambrosino, M. Salucci, L. Gennaro, R. Bugianesi, F. Giuffrida, G. Quaglia, Nutritional value of cherry tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Cv. Naomi F1) harvested at different ripening stages. J. Agric. Food Chem. 50 (22), 6550–6556 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1021/JF020315T J. Ralph, G. Brunow, P.J. Harris, R.A. Dixon, P.F. Schatz, W. Boerjan, Lignifications: are lignins biosynthesized via simple combinato- rial chemistry or via proteinaceous control and template replica- tion? Recent advances in polyphenol research (Blackwell Publish- ing, Hoboken, 2008), pp. 36–66 M. Rostami, A. Ghorbani, S. Shahbazi, (2024). Gamma radiation-induced enhancement of biocontrol agents for plant disease management. In Current Research in Microbial Sciences (Vol. 7). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crmicr.2024.100308 J. Rotem, (1994). The genus Alternaria: biology, epidemiology, and pathogenicity (pp. ix+-326) R. Sarkar, Z.M. Petrushenko, D.S. Dawson, V.V. Rybenkov, Ycs4 Subunit of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Condensin Binds DNA and Modulates the Enzyme Turnover. Biochemistry. 60 , 3385–3397 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00473 A.O. Sbodio, S.D. Mesquida-Pesci, N. Yip, I. Alvarez-Rojo, E. Gutierrez-Baeza, S. Tay, P. Bello, L. Wang, B. Blanco-Ulate, Non-wounding contact-based Inoculation of fruits with fungal pathogens in postharvest. Plant. Methods. 20 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-024-01214-2 M. Schindler, S. Solar, G. Sontag, Phenolic compounds in tomatoes. Natural variations and effect of gamma-irradiation. Eur. Food Res. Technol. 221 (3–4), 439–445 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-005-1198-0 H.M. Shahbaz, J.J. Ahn, K. Akram, H.Y. Kim, E.J. Park, J.H. Kwon, Chemical and sensory quality of fresh pomegranate fruits exposed to gamma radiation as quarantine treatment. Food Chem. 145 , 312–318 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.08.052 E.G. Simmons, (2000). Alternaria themes and variations (244–286) species on Solanaceae H.J. Song, D.W. Choi, K. Song, Bin, Effect of aqueous chlorine dioxide and UV-C treatment on the microbial reduction and color of cherry tomatoes. Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. 52 (5), 488–493 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/S13580-011-0043-6 E. Taha, R. Shoaib, Impact of Gamma Irradiation on Tomato, and Pepper Growth Parameters, Phytochemical, Nematode Infectivity and detection of DNA Damage by Comet Assay. J. Plant. Prot. Pathol. 12 (9), 599–608 (2021). https://doi.org/10.21608/jppp.2021.92193.1032 H. Thordal-Christensen, Z. Zhang, Y. Wei, D.B. Collinge, Subcellular localization of H 2 O 2 in plants. H 2 O 2 accumulation in papillae and hypersensitive response during the barley-powdery mildew interaction. Plant J. 11 , 1187–1194 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-313X.1997.11061187.x M.M. Wall, S.A. Khan, (2008). Postharvest Quality of Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus spp.) after X-ray Irradiation Quarantine Treatment. In HORTSCIENCE ( 43 , Issue 7). https://journals.ashs.org J.M. Watkins, J.M. Chapman, G.K. Muday, Abscisic acid-induced reactive oxygen species are modulated by flavonols to control stomata aperture. Plant Physiol. 175 , 1807–1825 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.17.01010 S.G. Wi, B.Y. Chung, J.S. Kim, J.H. Kim, M.H. Baek, J.W. Lee, Y.S. Kim, (2007). Effects of gamma irradiation on morphological changes and biological responses in plants. In Micron (Vol. 38, pp. 553–564). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micron.2006.11.002 J. Yang, W. Shi, B. Li, Y. Bai, Z. Hou, Preharvest and postharvest UV radiation affected flavonoid metabolism and antioxidant capacity differently in developing blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L). Food Chem. 301 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.125248 K.N. Yoon, Y.S. Yoon, H.J. Hong, J.H. Park, B.S. Song, J.B. Eun, J.K. Kim, Gamma irradiation delays tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) ripening by inducing transcriptional changes. J. Sci. Food. Agric. 103 (13), 6640–6653 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.12760 Q. Zhang, W. Yang, J. Liu, H. Liu, Z. Lv, C. Zhang, D. Chen, Z. Jiao, Postharvest UV-C irradiation increased the flavonoids and anthocyanins accumulation, phenylpropanoid pathway gene expression, and antioxidant activity in sweet cherries (Prunus avium L). Postharvest Biol. Technol. 175 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/J.POSTHARVBIO.2021.111490 N. Zieslin, R. Ben Zaken, Peroxidase activity and presence of phenolic substances in peduncles of rose flowers. Plant. Physiol. Biochem. 31 , 333–339 (1993) Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9204178","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":612198379,"identity":"8bf3b20b-2ea4-4835-a3bd-7f4cf4729b19","order_by":0,"name":"Smritam Maity","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Scottish Church College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Smritam","middleName":"","lastName":"Maity","suffix":""},{"id":612198380,"identity":"7790c04a-0e10-4464-a7c0-ef11a0b0e4aa","order_by":1,"name":"Antara Rakshit","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Scottish Church College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Antara","middleName":"","lastName":"Rakshit","suffix":""},{"id":612198381,"identity":"0a488839-1b0e-422f-8a58-e24b93d28ef2","order_by":2,"name":"Ramita Deb","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Scottish Church College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ramita","middleName":"","lastName":"Deb","suffix":""},{"id":612198382,"identity":"9cb325cf-4438-48aa-a6f1-5cb33dde0b5d","order_by":3,"name":"Krishnendu Acharya","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Calcutta","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Krishnendu","middleName":"","lastName":"Acharya","suffix":""},{"id":612198383,"identity":"98bdc505-328b-4dbc-9f9b-8756d53f723a","order_by":4,"name":"Nilanjan Chakraborty","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Scottish Church College","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nilanjan","middleName":"","lastName":"Chakraborty","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-23 19:53:31","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204178/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204178/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105546750,"identity":"0761ec79-1502-478e-a882-e3ef9a08d107","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 09:14:25","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":98737,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eComparison of non-irradiated and irradiated Tomato fruit tissues over time\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/2e7165fd696dc6b1dfa5d38f.jpg"},{"id":105546746,"identity":"50b94530-12a1-4c06-9838-d6c562f2aa91","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 09:14:25","extension":"jpeg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":162029,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eComparison of Percentage of Weight-loss of Tomato fruit tissue (irradiated and non-irradiated)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image2.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/6fc560297275a398cf5727fe.jpeg"},{"id":105546748,"identity":"54ad8183-2a5c-4f82-a307-bb3a52b0123c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 09:14:25","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":121098,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eComparison of Decay percentage of Tomato fruit tissue (irradiated and non-irradiated)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/14644b47bf556e9d8829146b.png"},{"id":105567103,"identity":"001aac33-ed3f-4574-aa57-11925ebc9324","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:58:19","extension":"jpeg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":202210,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of gamma-radiation on Phenol content of tomato fruit across various gamma-radiation doses till 3 weeks\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image4.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/63ba640cb15c74cec2d877ff.jpeg"},{"id":105567093,"identity":"79f05a2c-b40c-41f3-b72e-145e1b9f5491","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:58:17","extension":"jpeg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":118906,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of gamma-radiation on Flavonoid content of tomato fruit across various Gamma-radiation doses till 3 weeks\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image5.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/1405ee490f548a13f13bb7da.jpeg"},{"id":105546751,"identity":"b1caf2c5-e7e2-4522-ab27-6fe97db6a168","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 09:14:25","extension":"jpeg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":201506,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of gamma-radiation on Flavonoid content of tomato fruit across various Gamma-radiation doses till 3 weeks\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image6.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/f1c570e8757861a3c575ba19.jpeg"},{"id":105566235,"identity":"8398dcec-8228-4e2a-9661-daa05369673f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:55:50","extension":"jpeg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":131843,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of Gamma-radiation on Peroxidase (PO) content of Tomato fruit tissue across various doses till 3 weeks\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image7.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/c35e83a54d8f425d1cb867dd.jpeg"},{"id":105546754,"identity":"a969d93b-5c88-41f2-97d8-f60209563c84","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 09:14:25","extension":"jpeg","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":134914,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of Gamma-radiation on Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO) content of Tomato fruits across various doses till 3 weeks\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image8.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/612287a7275033b569539f00.jpeg"},{"id":105546758,"identity":"d9ca5d34-6e3f-41d7-bbb5-6fd6ad186c12","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 09:14:25","extension":"jpg","order_by":9,"title":"Figure 9","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":250277,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eVisualization of H₂O₂ accumulation on Irradiated and Non-irradiated Tomato skin; (a) Non-irradiated Control (b) 80 Gy (c) 100 Gy (d) 120 Gy\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image9.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/142cc27d1f2ee34ad3a4ed14.jpg"},{"id":105567441,"identity":"edc65f89-35b5-4932-a644-31c41307e528","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:59:33","extension":"jpg","order_by":10,"title":"Figure 10","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":85567,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eReal-time Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) detection through DCF-DA staining of the peels of Tomato skin; (a) Non-irradiated control (b) 80 Gy (c) 100 Gy (d) 120 Gy\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image10.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/dce81a9b854203f814dd5a23.jpg"},{"id":105567327,"identity":"8e040028-de05-48aa-ae3d-555caa1906c4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:58:57","extension":"jpeg","order_by":11,"title":"Figure 11","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":100168,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of 𝛄-radiation on degree brix content of tomato pulp after 21 days\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image11.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/b7525cf3061c0a06efdc79c1.jpeg"},{"id":105546755,"identity":"e9bf9897-75a4-4d09-a09b-846e883155ef","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 09:14:25","extension":"jpg","order_by":12,"title":"Figure 12","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":115120,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA. solani \u003c/em\u003espore suspension under haemocytometer\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image12.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/ff33ef2ae254afaa4cf3e6d5.jpg"},{"id":105567360,"identity":"4c1c3953-43c2-4c7d-96f1-c969c40ceeea","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:59:05","extension":"jpg","order_by":13,"title":"Figure 13","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":46716,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eTomato fruits inoculated with \u003cem\u003eA. solani \u003c/em\u003eand incubated for 2 weeks under different treatments; (a) Control, (b) 80 Gy, (c) 100 Gy, (d) 120 Gy\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"image13.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/552c7c664252183e083fc54d.jpg"},{"id":107101728,"identity":"76d95fbb-317a-4a6a-aca5-931df08ff4d4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-16 19:10:33","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2166658,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9204178/v1/cdf38727-1933-41b0-9a57-4dcc4bcec69e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Gamma-radiation Induced Modulation of Physical and Defence Enzymatic Dynamics in Post-harvest Tomato","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eTomato (\u003cem\u003eSolanum lycopersicum\u003c/em\u003e L.) is an agricultural crop produced and consumed worldwide (Gyimah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Its consumption is second only to the potato as a vegetable (Javanmardi \u0026amp; Kubota, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e). The crop belongs to the \u003cem\u003eSolanaceae\u003c/em\u003e family, and it has been originated in the South American Andes (Nicola et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). Though phytologically it is a berry but usually considered as a vegetable for its savoury flavour. It has Organic acids mainly citric acid and other important micronutrients such as Boron, iron, Manganese, carotenoids, vitamins A, B, E and K. (Gyimah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). It has plenty of minerals, essential amino acids, and dietary fibres. Traditionally various methods have been utilised to help in the post-harvest preservation of fruits and vegetables as it is a noxious challenge for farmers as well as consumer to prevent the rapid decay of these crop products. These are vulnerable to various microbial flora because of their delicate tissue. These therapies include utilization of hot air, blanching, use of chemicals like CaCl\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e etc. Gamma irradiation has emerged as a potent alternative.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRadiation involves the emission and propagation of energy through space and can be divided into particle radiation and electromagnetic (EM) radiation. Electromagnetic radiation can be categorized into two main types: ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, cosmic rays, x- rays, and non-ionizing radiation including UV-rays, visible light, infrared etc. Ionizing radiation such as gamma radiation is a technique that can induce genetic mutations in microorganisms(Ali et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) and is considered safe for both the environment as well as for the human health, and it can also be used for different purposes in the food industry (e.g. increasing the shelf life of products, inactivation of spoilage microorganisms and pathogens, pest control and the inhibition of sprouting (Rostami et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Irradiation is a method and a chemical free approach through which an amount of energy in the form of particle or rays exposed to agricultural crops to reduce the microbial load which can cause post-harvest losses and used to increase the shelf life and improve some nutritional qualities in particular tomato variety. Gamma radiation used as a post-harvest crop preservation procedure for several years because it is a high-frequency rays which can effectively induce mutation in consisting of high-energy protons that enters the cell and cause ionization emitted by radioactive isotopes like Cobalt 60 (Ali et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Gamma rays are generally dose dependent, where a low dose has lesser side effects and a comparatively high dose can affect plant morphology, plant anatomy and cellular biochemistry (Wi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIonization causes disturbance in the normal processes of the plant cells ultimately affecting crop production. Ionizing radiation induces DNA damage, a significant event that affects all living organisms. It has been reported that irradiation can cause several types of DNA damage, including oxidative damage from the direct encounter of ionizing radiation with DNA molecules, hydrolytic damage, misincorporation of bases during replication, and damage caused by alkylating agents (Jeong \u0026amp; Jeong, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). However, there are many parameters present to diagnose the damage caused by this radiation. Under a low dose of gamma rays plant defence mechanism such as LAR and SAR is activated to withstand the damage. Radiation has proved to be productive for managing post-harvest crop losses caused by necrotrophic fungi. They can demolish cells using mycotoxins (toxic secondary metabolites of fungi) or cell-wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs). \u003cem\u003eAspergillus, Botrytis, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Alternaria, Geotrichum, Gloeosporium, Monilinia, Mucor, Penicillium\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eRhizopus\u003c/em\u003e are the main fungal genera known to produce mycotoxins and cause postharvest diseases.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe primary aim of this study was to understand the potential of gamma radiation as a post-harvest treatment for enhancing safety and quality control of tomatoes. It is a promisable technique to modify or reshuffling the genetic core of the plants. This technique has potential to be a viable alternative to traditional breeding for incorporating desirable traits into crops. Furthermore, whether used alone or in conjunction with other techniques, gamma radiation can significantly reduce microbial decay and spoilage during storage. Over the last few decades, there has been extensive research into using radiation particularly gamma rays to develop superior, economically important crop varieties.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePlant Material:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe experiments were carried out using local cultivar (Pusa Rubi) of tomato (\u003cem\u003eSolanum lycopersicum\u003c/em\u003e L.) fruits. Fruits were maintained throughout the experiment in an ambient temperature (15\u0026ordm;C to 18\u0026ordm;C) at Scottish Church College, Kolkata inside a refrigerated fruit and vegetable tray.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGamma-irradiation process:\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe source of gamma irradiation process was available at Bidhan Chandra Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (BCKV, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India). The irradiation process was performed inside a GC-5000 gamma-irradiation chamber with \u003csup\u003e60\u003c/sup\u003eCo source. All the fruit samples were transported to irradiation facility in a shielded and protected ice bucket with few ices to protect from damages and back to laboratory of Scottish church college following the same manner. All the tomato fruits were irradiated with the doses of 80 Gy, 100 Gy and 120 Gy with a dose rate of 2.535 kGy/hr.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eComparison of Irradiated and Non-irradiated tomato samples:\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo more or less similar size tomato fruits of the cultivar of each dose after treatment was kept at the desired temperature (15℃-18℃) at was observed after each week. This process was continued till 3 weeks, and the rotting and ripening was captured as photograph after every week.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePercentage of Weight loss Determination:\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePercentage of weight loss in tomato fruits was determined directly every 7 days till 3 weeks according to the equation, W\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e= [(W\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e-W\u003csub\u003et\u003c/sub\u003e)/ W\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e ]\u0026times;100%; where W\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e is denoted as % of weight Loss, W\u003csub\u003e0\u003c/sub\u003e is initial weight of fruits at harvested and W\u003csub\u003et\u003c/sub\u003e is the weight of fruits at the designated time. The process was followed by Adam et al., (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePercentage of Decay Determination:\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDecay (%) was determined following the method of(Garc\u0026iacute;a et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e) with slight modification. The number of spoiled tomatoes or necrotic tomatoes were noted in each 7 days till 3 weeks and the decay percentage was calculated for each 7 days in each dose based on the following formula.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDecay % = \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\frac{\\text{T}\\text{h}\\text{e}\\:\\text{n}\\text{u}\\text{m}\\text{b}\\text{e}\\text{r}\\:\\text{o}\\text{f}\\:\\text{n}\\text{e}\\text{c}\\text{r}\\text{o}\\text{t}\\text{i}\\text{c}\\:\\text{o}\\text{r}\\:\\text{m}\\text{o}\\text{l}\\text{d}\\text{e}\\text{d}\\:\\text{o}\\text{r}\\:\\text{s}\\text{p}\\text{o}\\text{i}\\text{l}\\text{e}\\text{d}\\:\\text{t}\\text{o}\\text{m}\\text{a}\\text{t}\\text{o}\\text{e}\\text{s}}{\\text{T}\\text{h}\\text{e}\\:\\text{n}\\text{u}\\text{m}\\text{b}\\text{e}\\text{r}\\:\\text{o}\\text{f}\\:\\text{t}\\text{o}\\text{t}\\text{a}\\text{l}\\:\\text{t}\\text{o}\\text{m}\\text{a}\\text{t}\\text{o}\\text{e}\\text{s}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u0026times; 100\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEnzyme Assays:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e250 mg fruit tissues were collected from the different sets of treatment and extracted by adding 0.1% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and 20 \u0026micro;L of 1 mM phenyl methyl sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) in 2 mL of 0.1 M of sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) for peroxidase (PO) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO); and also 0.1 M sodium borate buffer (pH 8.7) for phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). The full extraction procedures were performed at 4\u0026deg;C and the homogenate was centrifuged at 12,000 rpm at 4\u0026deg;C for 20 min. The supernatant that was obtained used as the crude enzyme source (Chakraborty et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e);(Chakraborty et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). The PO enzyme test was done using the process from (HEMEDA \u0026amp; KLEIN, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1990\u003c/span\u003e), with a few small changes where the reaction mix was created using 2.95 mL of substrate (mixing 5 mL of 0.3% H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e, 5 mL of 0.1% guaiacol, and 50 mL of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer at pH 6.5) and 0.05 mL of enzyme taken out. The changes in absorbance was checked at 470 nm for 0\u0026ndash;3 minutes, every 30 seconds, using a UV\u0026ndash;Vis spectrophotometer. Enzyme activity was shown as \u0026micro;mol min\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e mg\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e of protein (E\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;26.6 mM\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePPO activity was measured using the method created by (Kumar \u0026amp; Khan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1982\u003c/span\u003e). The test solution was made by mixing 1.6 mL of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.5), 1.4 mL of 0.1 M catechol, and 0.5 mL of the unrefined enzyme sample. Next, the test solution was left to sit for 30 minutes at normal room temperature, and the reactions were stopped by adding 1 mL of 2.5 N H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e. Absorption measurement was taken at 495 nm and the activity was expressed in U min\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e mg\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e of protein (U= Change in 0.1 absorbance min\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e mg\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e protein).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePAL activity was assessed by the method of (Dickerson et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1984\u003c/span\u003e). Measurement was taken at 290 nm and the expression of enzymatic activity synthesis of trans cinnamic acid (in nmol quantities) min\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1 mg\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1 protein by conversion rate from l-phenylalanine. Here, the reaction mixture was prepared by adding substrate (1.4 mL of 0.1 M borate buffer with pH 8.7 and 0.5 mL of 12 mM l-phenyl alanine) with 0.1 mL of enzyme and incubated for 1 h at room temperature.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEstimation of Total Protein Content\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe total protein content was evaluated by standard Bradford assay(Bradford, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1976\u003c/span\u003e) ,using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as standard.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEstimation of Total Phenol and Total Flavonoid Content\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe total phenol and flavonoid content were assessed by the method of(Zieslin \u0026amp; Ben Zaken, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e) and (Chang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e), respectively. For phenol, absorbance was set at 725 nm and expressed as \u0026micro;g gallic acid equivalents g\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e fruit tissue. The flavonoid content was measured at 415 nm absorbance and expressed as \u0026micro;g quercetin equivalents g\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e of the fresh fruit tissue.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEstimation of Hydrogen Peroxide (H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e0\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) and Reactive-oxygen species (ROS)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eEstimation of hydrogen peroxide (H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e0\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) on tomato fruit skin was performed by DAB staining following the method of(Thordal-Christensen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e) after 3 weeks. After the decolouration of the fruit skin with the help of glacial acetic acid and ethanol (1:3), the skins of each treatment irradiation dose were immersed in a DAB (3,3\u0026rsquo;-Diaminobenzidine) solution for 24 hrs incubated in dark condition. Then the skins were observed under the microscope.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReal time ROS generation was detected fluorescence intensity through Floid Cell Imaging station microscope (Life technologies) by using 2\u0026rsquo;, 7\u0026rsquo;- Dichlorofluoroscin diacetate dye (DCF-DA) (Watkins et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). ROS production was detected by amount of green fluorescence. Mean fluorescence intensity was measured in ImageJ software (imageJ.nih.gov/ij) and listed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePhysio-chemical Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal soluble solids (TSS) were measured directly from the fruit juice using Krus hand refractometer (model Labart/LRB-32) at 20\u0026deg;C and expressed as percent or degree Brix (AOAC, 1990).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePreparation of Fungal Spore-suspension\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePure culture of \u003cem\u003eAlternaria solani\u003c/em\u003e was collected from Banaras Hindu University, Banaras, UP. Fungal inoculum was prepared from \u003cem\u003eA\u003c/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003esolani\u003c/em\u003e according to(Manzo et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e) and (Chakraborty et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Culture filtrate was collected by passing the culture broth through Whatman No. 1 filter paper after proper scrapping inside a laminar air-flow and allowed to centrifuge the filtrate solution at 5,000 rpm for 15 min. The centrifuged supernatant of filtrate was filtered twice via 0.22 mm membrane filter and finally denoted as the fungal spore suspension. The concentration of spore suspension was adjusted to 1\u0026times;10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e-1\u0026times;10\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e spores/ml following the method of (Avin \u0026amp; Cropscience, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Characteristics of the spores were also observed under the microscope.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eInoculation of Fungal Pathogen to healthy Fruit\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe prepared specific concentration (1\u0026times;10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e-1\u0026times;10\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e spores/ml) of \u003cem\u003eA. solani\u003c/em\u003e spore suspension was inoculated into fresh tomato fruit following the method of (Sbodio et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). After washing the fresh fruits from each separated control and treated doses, 10 \u0026micro;l from the above spore suspension was micro-injected inside the intact fruit tissue through the micro-wound created on the fruit skin. Inoculated fruits were kept in an aerated jar and stored in incubator where average temperature of 20\u0026ordm;C was maintained. The occurrence of the disease symptoms was observed till 3 weeks or until at least one lesion was formed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll the statistical analysis were performed dividing the subset in respect to days and One-way-Anova was performed to all parametric dataset at the significance level, P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05 in the software, SPSS (version 23). Tukey HSD test was performed after ANOVA to find out statistically significant differences. Graphs were prepared in GraphPad Prism 10.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results and Discussion","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eComparison of Irradiated and Non-irradiated Tomato Samples\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA visual assessment of tomato fruits from a local variety subjected to varying doses of gamma irradiation (80 Gy, 100 Gy, 120 Gy, and 140 Gy) was performed over a period of 21 days. Non-irradiated control fruits began to show visible spoilage by the 14th day, with approximately 50% damage evident by the 21st day. Fruits irradiated at 80 Gy exhibited delayed deterioration compared to the control, retaining better firmness and fewer visible symptoms of decay. In 100 Gy-treated samples, deterioration occurred more rapidly than in 80 Gy, indicating a reduced preservation effect. 120 Gy proved most effective in extending shelf life, with minimal signs of spoilage towards the end of the 21-day period. However, at 140 Gy, fruits exhibited rapid softening, discoloration, and fungal colonization, indicating that this dose was detrimental and resulted in worse outcomes than even the non-irradiated control.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePercentage of weight loss\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe 120 Gy treatment demonstrated optimal effectiveness in reducing weight loss (1.37% vs control 1.55% in average at 21 days), suggesting improved moisture retention. These results (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e) are consistent with existing research on gamma irradiation's dose-dependent effects on postharvest quality.Adam et al., (2013) reported similar findings, noting that irradiated fruits exhibited greater viability compared to the control. Gamma radiation reduces ethylene synthesis related genes which leads to late ripening and lessen weight loss (Yoon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e), similar phenomena also observed in strawberries (Panou et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).Though, negligible differences in weight loss were observed among fruits treated with the three irradiation doses of 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 kGy (Gyimah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). However, at higher irradiation doses, weight loss may increase (Bhattarai \u0026amp; Gautam, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e);(Gyimah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).This phenomenon can be ascribe to the physiological characteristics of climacteric fruits, which generate heat during respiration. Under ambient conditions, the rate of heat generation is accelerated due to increased respiration, leading to enhanced water evaporation and, consequently, rapid weight loss (Davies \u0026amp; Hobson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1981\u003c/span\u003e);(Padmini, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eDecay Percentage\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results demonstrate a clear dose-dependent effect of gamma irradiation on tomato decay rates. The 120 Gy treatment showed the most effective preservation, with only 13.3% decay in average after 21 days compared to 53.3% average in control samples. The complete prevention of decay at 14 days for the 120 Gy treatment (0%) compared to in average 20% decay in control samples (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e) indicate that this dose may be particularly effective for long-term storage applications. Similar results observed by (Yoon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) in tomatoes and (Panou et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e) in strawberries.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePhenol\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter 7 days post irradiation the phenol content peaked at 80 Gy compared to control and all other doses. But after 14 days the phenol content was high at 120 Gy with respect to control and other doses. A similar trend was also observed at 21 days where phenol content peaked at 120 Gy (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). During the initial phase of fruit ripening the total phenolic content increases to manage the oxidative stress. However, the phenol content decreases subsequently and higher doses of gamma radiation treatment also negatively affect the total phenolic content (Raffo et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e);(M. Kumar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e);(Song et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e);(Shahbaz et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). Schindler et al., (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e) mentioned the changes due to gamma radiation is negligible than the natural variation of traditional tomatoes already have. In contrast reports in cherry tomato (Guerreiro et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e), cara cara (Lu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e), guava (Hossain et al., 2014) show positive results in irradiated fruits than the control ones. Accumulation of phenolic compounds depends on many factors, like ripening time, storage, temperature etc. Some study shows irradiation can effectively regulate the phenolic contents and other secondary metabolites accumulation with enzyme activities and gene expression of PAL/ C4H (Yang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e);(Zhang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec21\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eFlavonoids\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eGamma-radiation significantly influenced the flavonoid content in tomato fruits over time. Among the different radiation doses tested, 120 Gy exhibited the highest flavonoid accumulation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt 7 days post-irradiation, the flavonoid content peaked at 120 Gy with 0.474 \u0026micro;g quercetin/mg tissue, which was significantly greater than the control and other doses. A similar pattern was observed at 14 days, where the contents slightly decreased but remained highest (0.426 \u0026micro;g quercetin/mg tissue) at 120 Gy compared to control and other doses. This elevated level remained comparatively high (133.69 \u0026micro;g quercetin/g tissue) also at 120 Gy in 21 days. Similar results were found in eggplants where flavonoids content increased at 50 Gy (Aly et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Compared to this ionizing radiation showed negative results on flavonoid contents of chestnuts (Carocho et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). As the flavonoids are a big part of phenolic compounds different body parts of fruits shows different results of accumulation and higher doses of irradiation may affect it negatively as well (Schindler et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec22\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePAL\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eGraphical representation of PAL enzyme activity indicates marked increase in activity at control and 80 Gy (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e). But after 14 days, the PAL content was high in 80 Gy compared to other doses and after 21 days it peaked at 120 Gy (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results demonstrate a dynamic response of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity to gamma irradiation in tomato fruits. The control and 80 Gy treatments showed the highest initial PAL activity (3591.90 and 3597.29 mol/ml/min/mg protein at 7 days, respectively). This pattern continued at 14 days, where 80 Gy exhibited the highest PAL activity (3108.41 mol/ml/min/mg protein).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy 21 days post-irradiation, PAL activity peaked at 120 Gy (2981.05 mol/ml/min/mg protein), surpassing both control (2103.96 mol/ml/min/mg protein) and other irradiated samples. PAL is important predecessor of the phenylpropanoid pathway. So, its enhanced production by irradiation also affects the phenolic compounds and flavonoid production as well (Paul et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). In this study a dynamic response of PAL activity is observed. Which also justifies similar data obtained from phenolic and flavonoid contents. However, dose dependent response was observed in egg plant (\u003cem\u003eSolanum melongena\u003c/em\u003e L.) (Aly et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and green onion (Jimenez et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) where maximum activity of PAL observed at 50 Gy and 70Gy respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec23\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePO\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe PO content was significantly higher at control with respect to all the other doses till 14 days. After 21 days the PO content peaked at 120 Gy compared to other doses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe control (non-irradiated) samples consistently showed the highest PO activity at 7 days and 14 days, suggesting that irradiation suppresses PO in the short term (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e) .\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy 21 days, PO activity peaked at 120 Gy, exceedingly even the control. This delayed increase suggests a stress-induced upregulation of PO, possibly due to accumulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggering defence responses. PO content depends on many factors like temperature, ripening time and which part of the fruit body is observed. Similar trend of results can be like PPO in case of PO since both have a prime role in plant defence through lignification (Ralph et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec24\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePPO\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt 7 days post irradiation, the polyphenol oxidase content in tomato fruits was high in control among all the other doses tested. A similar trend was observed at 14 days where polyphenol oxidase content was high in control. After 21 days, polyphenol oxidase content peaked at 120 Gy with respect to other doses (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe observed variations in polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity in tomato fruits following irradiation suggest a dose- and time-dependent response. At 7- and 14-days post-irradiation, the control group exhibited the highest PPO content compared to irradiated samples, indicating that lower or no irradiation may initially maintain higher enzyme activity. Similar result was found in eggplant (Aly et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), citrus (Oufedjikh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e), pepper (Taha \u0026amp; Shoaib, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) and green onion (Jimenez et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) where lower doses of irradiation show higher PPO content than higher doses. However, in other studies insignificant differences were observed by irradiation (Falguera et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e);(Taha \u0026amp; Shoaib, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec25\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e Detection by DAB staining\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDAB staining was implemented to assess hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) accumulation in tomato tissues subjected to varying doses of gamma radiation. In the control sample, very negligible H₂O₂ accumulation was observed, as evidenced by the uniform yellowish appearance with no prominent brown patches. In the 80 Gy and 100 Gy-treated sample, slight H₂O₂ accumulation was evident (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e), with one distinctly stained brown region. Interestingly, at 120 Gy, H₂O₂ accumulation was again minimal and comparable to control (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e), with no clearly defined stained regions. Fruits exposure to gamma rays to a certain level increases H₂O₂ content due the stress response mechanism. When fruits are exposed to increased doses of gamma rays, the reverse effect occurs because antioxidant systems (such as CAT and APX) quickly nullifies the stress, resulting in reduced overall oxidative damage than in untreated, aging fruits (Kumar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). Formation of H₂O₂ also depends on the potential oxygen concentration of the fruit during irradiation (Colletti et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec26\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eReal time Detection of ROS by DCF-DA staining\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in gamma-irradiated tomato peel tissues was assessed using DCFDA fluorescence staining and quantified using ImageJ software. The non-irradiated control sample exhibited a fluorescence intensity of approx. 10.218, reflecting minimal ROS accumulation under normal conditions. Exposure to 80 Gy resulted in a fluorescence intensity of 8.377, indicating enhanced ROS generation. At 100 Gy, the intensity was recorded at approx. 8.504, slightly higher than 80 Gy. A comparable level of ROS was observed at 120 Gy, with a fluorescence value of around 7.549. Gamma radiation causes a spike in ROS, followed by a decline due to induced antioxidant mechanisms. The upregulation of scavenging enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX) increases the antioxidative capacity and reduces oxidative stress, thereby mediating the physicochemical changes that delay fruit ripening and softening (Kumar et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA table (Table.1) has been prepared on the basis of mean fluorescence intensity measured in ImageJ software.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuantification comparison of mean fluorescence intensity of different \u0026#120516;-irraddiated tomatoes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDose\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean Fluorescence Intensity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNon-irradiated control\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.218\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.03\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e80 Gy\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.377\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.02\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100 Gy\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.504\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e120 Gy\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.549\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.01\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec27\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eTotal Soluble Solids (T.S.S) through Degree Brix Measurement\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eHere the influence of different gamma radiation doses on the degree brix (\u0026ordm;Brix) which indicates the soluble sugar content in tomato fruits after 3 weeks. The highest degree brix was observed at 80 Gy which was slightly higher than the non-irradiated control. Then the total \u0026ordm; brix was reduced in 100 Gy which was lower than control and in 120 Gy, \u0026ordm; brix content was lowest among all the other doses (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig11\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e). According toAmbika et al., (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) the TSS content reduction in irradiated ones likely caused by delay in ripening and senescence. Similar data was also obtained in custard apple (Ambika et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), raspberries (Guimar\u0026atilde;es et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e), guava (Hossain et al., 2014), papaya (Arundathi, 2018). Generally, radiation did not affect TSS as much as temperature does in stored tomatoes (Prakash et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e);(Akter and Khan2012); (Gyimah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). In case of other fruits like dragon fruit stored in 10\u0026ordm;C (Wall \u0026amp; Khan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e), cucumber (Khalili et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), cara cara (\u003cem\u003eCitrus sinensis\u003c/em\u003e L. Osbeck)(Lu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) irradiation did not show much effect on TSS value as well.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eSpore characteristics of\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eA. solani\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe morphological characteristics of \u003cem\u003eAlternaria solani\u003c/em\u003e conidia were examined under a light microscope following the preparation of a spore suspension. The conidia appeared dark brown to black in coloration and exhibited distinctive shapes, primarily club-shaped to obclavate with a pronounced beaked structure (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig12\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e- a \u0026amp; b). Both transverse and longitudinal septation were clearly visible (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig12\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e-c), which is a key taxonomic feature of this fungal species. Additionally, most conidia possessed a long, tapering apical beak, as observed in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig12\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e- d.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe microscopic examination confirmed the identity of \u003cem\u003eA. solani\u003c/em\u003e based on well-established morphological criteria. The conidia are typically large, multicellular, and darkly pigmented, often with both transverse and longitudinal septa, which is characteristic of the genus \u003cem\u003eAlternaria\u003c/em\u003e. The presence of a long apical beak is a diagnostic feature used to differentiate \u003cem\u003eA. solani\u003c/em\u003e from closely related species (Rotem, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1994\u003c/span\u003e);(Simmons, 2007). These structural traits play a critical role in the pathogenicity of the fungus, facilitating adhesion to the host surface and aiding in spore dispersal.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eVisualization of Symptoms on Healthy tomato fruits by\u003c/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eA. solani\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTomato fruits from different gamma-irradiated treatments were inoculated with \u003cem\u003eA. solani\u003c/em\u003e and assessed for lesion development after 14\u0026ndash;15 days. Clear variation was observed in lesion diameters among the treatments. The control exhibited prominent lesion formation, indicating higher susceptibility to the pathogen. In contrast, the 120 Gy treatment showed the least lesion development, suggesting enhanced resistance. Fruits irradiated at 80 Gy and 100 Gy displayed moderate lesion sizes, falling between the control and 120 Gy treatment (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig13\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e). Gamma radiation damages the DNA and enzymes of microorganisms and inhibit its growth (Lado \u0026amp; Yousef, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e). This study shows that gamma irradiation reduces the microbial growth in a dose dependent manner which is also concurred with a previous study conducted by Yoon et al., (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eA comprehensive evaluation of gamma irradiation effects on tomato fruits was conducted using multiple physiological, biochemical, and pathological parameters. Key assessments included defence enzyme activities PAL, PO, PPO, phenolic and flavonoid content (via spectrophotometry), degree Brix, weight loss, decay percentage, cell death (via Evans Blue), ROS and H₂O₂ accumulation (via DCF-DA and DAB staining), and pathogen response after \u003cem\u003eA. solani\u003c/em\u003e inoculation. The cumulative results clearly demonstrate that a dose of 120 Gy provided the most beneficial outcomes across parameters\u0026mdash;enhancing biochemical defence, minimizing spoilage, and improving resistance to fungal infection. Doses of 80 Gy and 100 Gy also showed moderate improvements over the control. Thus, 120 Gy emerges as the optimal dose for prolonging shelf life and enhancing postharvest quality in tomatoes through gamma irradiation.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eConflict of Interest\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAuthors have no conflict of interest.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e1, 2 \u0026amp; 3 wrote the main manuscript , 1 \u0026amp; 5 investigated all the data and made acquisition, 4 \u0026amp; 5 supervised the research and all the methodologies.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe authors are grateful to RNARC, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Nadia, for granting access to the Gamma-irradiation facility. The authors extend their deepest appreciation to Dr. Sutanu Sarkar, Assistant professor in Genetics and Plant breeding, Radiological safety officer, Bidhan chandra krishi viswavidyalaya for his expert supervision and operation of the irradiation unit. The respective authors acknowledge their respective funding sources: UGC-DAE-CSR (CRS/2022-23/02/832) for S. Maity and N. Chakraborty, and CSIR-HRDG for A. Rakshit. Authors are also thankful to the DST-FIST Programme -SR/FST/College-/2023/1486(G), Govt. of India, for infrastructural support, and Dr. Madhumanjari Mandal, Principal of Scottish Church College, for her administrative assistance.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eM.Y. Adam, H.A. Elbashir, A. Ahmed, R. Halim., Effect of Gamma Radiation on Tomato Quality during Storage and Processing. Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci. \u003cb\u003e6\u003c/b\u003e(1), 20\u0026ndash;25 (2014). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.19026/crjbs.6.5493\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.19026/crjbs.6.5493\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eH. Ali, Z. Ghori, S. Sheikh, A. Gul, (2015). Effects of gamma radiation on crop production. In Crop Production and Global Environmental Issues (pp. 27\u0026ndash;78). Springer International Publishing. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23162-4_2\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1007/978-3-319-23162-4_2\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA. Aly, N. Eliwa, M. AbdEl-Megid, Stimulating Effect of Gamma Radiation on Some Active Compounds in Eggplant Fruits. Egypt. J. Radiation Sci. Appl. \u003cb\u003e0\u003c/b\u003e(0), 0\u0026ndash;0 (2019). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.21608/ejrsa.2019.10024.1066\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.21608/ejrsa.2019.10024.1066\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eC.P. Ambika, V. Joshi, T.S. Kumar, C.R. Goud, Combined Effect of Gamma Irradiation and Post-Harvest Treatments on Quality and Shelf Life of Custard Apple (Annona squamosa L.) cv. Balanagar. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. Appl. Sci. \u003cb\u003e8\u003c/b\u003e(07), 2731\u0026ndash;2743 (2019). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.807.335\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.20546/ijcmas.2019.807.335\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eF. Avin, B. Cropscience, (2019). Easy way to count spores and prepare spore suspension by Hemocytometer. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/337772212\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337772212\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eD.R. Bhattarai, D.M. Gautam, Effect of Harvesting Method and Calcium on Post Harvest Physiology of Tomato. Nepal. Agric. Res. J. \u003cb\u003e7\u003c/b\u003e, 37\u0026ndash;41 (2006). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.3126/NARJ.V7I0.1864\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3126/NARJ.V7I0.1864\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eM.M. Bradford, A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal. Biochem. \u003cb\u003e72\u003c/b\u003e, 248\u0026ndash;254 (1976). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/0003-2697(76)90527-3\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/0003-2697(76)90527-3\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eM. Carocho, L. Barros, A.L. Antonio, J.C. Barreira, A. Bento, I. Kaluska, I.C. Ferreira, Analysis of organic acids in electron beam irradiated chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.): Effects of radiation dose and storage time. Food Chem. Toxicol. \u003cb\u003e55\u003c/b\u003e, 348\u0026ndash;352 (2013)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eN. Chakraborty, S. Chandra, K. Acharya, (2017). Biochemical basis of improvement of defense in tomato plant against Fusarium wilt by CaCl2. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 2017 23:3, 23(3), 581\u0026ndash;596. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1007/S12298-017-0450-Y\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1007/S12298-017-0450-Y\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eN. Chakraborty, K. Mukherjee, A. Sarkar, K. Acharya, Interaction between bean and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides: Understanding through a biochemical approach. Plants. \u003cb\u003e8\u003c/b\u003e (2019). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.3390/plants8090345\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3390/plants8090345\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eC.C. Chang, M.H. Yang, H.M. Wen, J.C. Chern, Estimation of total flavonoid content in propolis by two complementary colometric methods. J. Food Drug Anal. \u003cb\u003e10\u003c/b\u003e, 178\u0026ndash;182 (2002). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.38212/2224-6614.2748\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.38212/2224-6614.2748\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA.C. Colletti, G.I. Denoya, S.R. Vaudagna, G.A. Polenta, Novel Applications of Gamma Irradiation on Fruit Processing. Curr. Food Sci. Technol. Rep. \u003cb\u003e2\u003c/b\u003e(1), 55\u0026ndash;64 (2024). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1007/s43555-024-00016-w\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1007/s43555-024-00016-w\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJ.N. Davies, G.E. Hobson, The constituents of tomato fruit\u0026ndash;the influence of environment, nutrition, and genotype. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. \u003cb\u003e15\u003c/b\u003e(3), 205\u0026ndash;280 (1981). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1080/10408398109527317\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1080/10408398109527317\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eD.P. Dickerson, S.F. Pascholati, A.E. Hagerman, L.G. Butler, R.L. Nicholson, Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and hydroxycinnamate: CoA ligase in maize mesocotyls inoculated with Helminthosporium maydis or Helminthosporium carbonum. Physiol. Plant Pathol. \u003cb\u003e25\u003c/b\u003e, 111\u0026ndash;123 (1984). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/0048-4059(84)90050-X\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/0048-4059(84)90050-X\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eV. Falguera, J. Pag\u0026aacute;n, A. Ibarz, Effect of UV irradiation on enzymatic activities and physicochemical properties of apple juices from different varieties. LWT - Food Sci. Technol. \u003cb\u003e44\u003c/b\u003e(1), 115\u0026ndash;119 (2011). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/J.LWT.2010.05.028\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/J.LWT.2010.05.028\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eM. Fuad Hossain, K. Parvez, M. Kamruzzaman Munshi, I. Khalil, R. Huque, (2014). Effect of radiation and chemical treatments on guava (Psidium guajava L.) to delay ripening in relation to organoleptic biochemical and microbiological properties. In Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. App Sci. (\u003cb\u003e3\u003c/b\u003e, Issue 12). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttp://www.ijcmas.com\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"http://www.ijcmas.com\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJ.F. Garc\u0026iacute;a, M. Olmo, J.M. Garc\u0026iacute;a, Decay incidence and quality of different citrus varieties after postharvest heat treatment at laboratory and industrial scale. Postharvest Biol. Technol. \u003cb\u003e118\u003c/b\u003e, 96\u0026ndash;102 (2016). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2016.03.019\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.postharvbio.2016.03.019\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eD. Guerreiro, J. Madureira, T. Silva, R. Melo, P.M.P. Santos, A. Ferreira, M.J. Trigo, A.N. Falc\u0026atilde;o, F.M.A. Marga\u0026ccedil;a, C. Verde, S, Post-harvest treatment of cherry tomatoes by gamma radiation: Microbial and physicochemical parameters evaluation. Innovative Food Sci. Emerg. Technol. \u003cb\u003e36\u003c/b\u003e, 1\u0026ndash;9 (2016). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2016.05.008\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.ifset.2016.05.008\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI.C. Guimar\u0026atilde;es, E.G.T. Menezes, de P.S. Abreu, A.C. Rodrigues, P.R.S. Borges, L.R. Batista, M.A. Cirilo, L.C. de Lima, O. (2013). Physicochemical and microbiological quality of raspberries (Rubus idaeus) treated with different doses of gamma irradiation. Food Science and Technology, 33(2), 316\u0026ndash;322. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-20612013005000040\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1590/S0101-20612013005000040\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eL.A. Gyimah, H.M. Amoatey, R. Boatin, V. Appiah, B.T. Odai, The impact of gamma irradiation and storage on the physicochemical properties of tomato fruits in Ghana. Food Qual. Saf. \u003cb\u003e4\u003c/b\u003e, 151\u0026ndash;157 (2020). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1093/FQSAFE/FYAA017\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1093/FQSAFE/FYAA017\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eH.M. Hemeda, B.P. Klein, Effects of Naturally Occurring Antioxidants on Peroxidase Activity of Vegetable Extracts. J. Food Sci. \u003cb\u003e55\u003c/b\u003e(1), 184\u0026ndash;185 (1990). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1111/J.1365-2621\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1111/J.1365-2621\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e. 1990.TB06048.X;PAGEGROUP:STRING:PUBLICATION\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJ. Javanmardi, C. Kubota, Variation of lycopene, antioxidant activity, total soluble solids and weight loss of tomato during postharvest storage. Postharvest Biol. Technol. \u003cb\u003e41\u003c/b\u003e, 151\u0026ndash;155 (2006). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2006.03.008\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.postharvbio.2006.03.008\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eM.A. Jeong, R.D. Jeong, Applications of ionizing radiation for the control of postharvest diseases in fresh produce: recent advances. Plant. Pathol. \u003cb\u003e67\u003c/b\u003e(1), 18\u0026ndash;29 (2018). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1111/PPA.12739\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1111/PPA.12739\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eL. Jimenez, E. Alarc\u0026oacute;n, C. Trevithick-Sutton, N. Gandhi, J.C. Scaiano, Effect of γ-radiation on green onion DNA integrity: Role of ascorbic acid and polyphenols against nucleic acid damage. Food Chem. \u003cb\u003e128\u003c/b\u003e(3), 735\u0026ndash;741 (2011). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/J.FOODCHEM.2011.03.098\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/J.FOODCHEM.2011.03.098\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eK.Arundathi. (2018). Studies on the effect of gamma irradiation and different wrapping materials on shelf life and quality of papaya (\u003cem\u003eCarica papaya\u003c/em\u003e L.) Cv. Taiwan, \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003eHttp://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810127863\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"http://Http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810127863\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eR. Khalili, N. Ayoobian, M. Jafarpour, B. Shirani, The effect of gamma irradiation on the properties of cucumber. J. Food Sci. Technol. \u003cb\u003e54\u003c/b\u003e(13), 4277 (2017). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1007/S13197-017-2899-7\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1007/S13197-017-2899-7\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eE. Koch, A. Slusarenko, Arabidopsis is susceptible to infection by a downy mildew fungus. Plant. Cell. \u003cb\u003e2\u003c/b\u003e, 437\u0026ndash;445 (1990). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.2.5.437\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1105/tpc.2.5.437\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eK.B. Kumar, P.A. Khan, (1982) Peroxidase and Polyphenol Oxidase in Excised Ragi (Eleusine coracana cv. PR 202) Leaves during Senescence. Indian Journal of Experimental Botany, 20, 412\u0026ndash;416. - References - Scientific Research Publishing. (n.d.). Retrieved December 19, 2025, from \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=1315287\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=1315287\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eM. Kumar, S. Ahuja, A. Dahuja, R. Kumar, B. Singh, Gamma radiation protects fruit quality in tomato by inhibiting the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ethylene. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. \u003cb\u003e301\u003c/b\u003e(3), 871\u0026ndash;880 (2014). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3234-7\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1007/s10967-014-3234-7\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eB.H. Lado, A.E. Yousef, Alternative food-preservation technologies: efficacy and mechanisms. Microbes Infect. \u003cb\u003e4\u003c/b\u003e(4), 433\u0026ndash;440 (2002). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/S1286-4579(02)01557-5\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/S1286-4579(02)01557-5\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eQ. Lu, D. Yang, S. Xue, Effects of postharvest gamma irradiation on quality maintenance of Cara Cara navel orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) during storage. LWT. \u003cb\u003e184\u003c/b\u003e, 115017 (2023). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/J.LWT.2023.115017\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/J.LWT.2023.115017\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eD. Manzo, F. Ferriello, G. Puopolo, A. Zoina, D. D\u0026rsquo;Esposito, L. Tardella, A. Ferrarini, M.R. Ercolano, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. radicis-lycopersici induces distinct transcriptome reprogramming in resistant and susceptible isogenic tomato lines. BMC Plant. Biology 2016. \u003cb\u003e16\u003c/b\u003e(1), 53 (2016). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1186/S12870-016-0740-5\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1186/S12870-016-0740-5\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eS. Nicola, G. Tibaldi, E. Fontana, Tomato production systems and their application to the tropics. Acta Hort. \u003cb\u003e821\u003c/b\u003e, 27\u0026ndash;33 (2009). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.17660/actahortic.2009.821.1\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.17660/actahortic.2009.821.1\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eH. Oufedjikh, M. Mahrouz, M.J. Amiot, M. Lacroix, Effect of gamma-irradiation on phenolic compounds and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity during storage in relation to peel injury from peel of Citrus clementina hort. Ex. tanaka. J. Agric. Food Chem. \u003cb\u003e48\u003c/b\u003e(2), 559\u0026ndash;565 (2000). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1021/JF9902402\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1021/JF9902402\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eT. Padmini, \u003cem\u003eStudies on Storage Behaviour of Tomatoes Coated With Chitosan-Lysozyme Films [Master of Science]\u003c/em\u003e (McGill University, Montreal,Quebec, Canada, 2006), p. 13\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA.A. Panou, I.K. Karabagias, K.A. Riganakos, Effect of Gamma-Irradiation on Sensory Characteristics, Physicochemical Parameters, and Shelf Life of Strawberries Stored under Refrigeration. Int. J. Fruit Sci. \u003cb\u003e20\u003c/b\u003e(2), 191\u0026ndash;206 (2020). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2019.1608890\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1080/15538362.2019.1608890\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA. Paul, N. Shamim, K. Acharya, N. Chakraborty, Twin effects of fungal elicitor produced from Alternaria alternata on induced systemic resistance and secondary metabolites production in Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. Plant. Stress. 6 (2022). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.stress.2022.100124\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.stress.2022.100124\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA. Prakash, J. Manley, S. DeCosta, F. Caporaso, D. Foley, The effects of gamma irradiation on the microbiological, physical and sensory qualities of diced tomatoes. Radiat. Phys. Chem. \u003cb\u003e63\u003c/b\u003e(3\u0026ndash;6), 387\u0026ndash;390 (2002). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-806X(01)00529-1\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/S0969-806X(01)00529-1\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA. Raffo, C. Leonardi, V. Fogliano, P. Ambrosino, M. Salucci, L. Gennaro, R. Bugianesi, F. Giuffrida, G. Quaglia, Nutritional value of cherry tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Cv. Naomi F1) harvested at different ripening stages. J. Agric. Food Chem. \u003cb\u003e50\u003c/b\u003e(22), 6550\u0026ndash;6556 (2002). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1021/JF020315T\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1021/JF020315T\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJ. Ralph, G. Brunow, P.J. Harris, R.A. Dixon, P.F. Schatz, W. Boerjan, \u003cem\u003eLignifications: are lignins biosynthesized via simple combinato- rial chemistry or via proteinaceous control and template replica- tion? Recent advances in polyphenol research\u003c/em\u003e (Blackwell Publish- ing, Hoboken, 2008), pp. 36\u0026ndash;66\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eM. Rostami, A. Ghorbani, S. Shahbazi, (2024). Gamma radiation-induced enhancement of biocontrol agents for plant disease management. In Current Research in Microbial Sciences (Vol. 7). Elsevier Ltd. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.crmicr.2024.100308\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.crmicr.2024.100308\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJ. Rotem, (1994). The genus Alternaria: biology, epidemiology, and pathogenicity (pp. ix+-326)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eR. Sarkar, Z.M. Petrushenko, D.S. Dawson, V.V. Rybenkov, Ycs4 Subunit of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Condensin Binds DNA and Modulates the Enzyme Turnover. Biochemistry. \u003cb\u003e60\u003c/b\u003e, 3385\u0026ndash;3397 (2021). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00473\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00473\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA.O. Sbodio, S.D. Mesquida-Pesci, N. Yip, I. Alvarez-Rojo, E. Gutierrez-Baeza, S. Tay, P. Bello, L. Wang, B. Blanco-Ulate, Non-wounding contact-based Inoculation of fruits with fungal pathogens in postharvest. Plant. Methods. 20 (2024). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-024-01214-2\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1186/s13007-024-01214-2\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eM. Schindler, S. Solar, G. Sontag, Phenolic compounds in tomatoes. Natural variations and effect of gamma-irradiation. Eur. Food Res. Technol. \u003cb\u003e221\u003c/b\u003e(3\u0026ndash;4), 439\u0026ndash;445 (2005). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-005-1198-0\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1007/s00217-005-1198-0\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eH.M. Shahbaz, J.J. Ahn, K. Akram, H.Y. Kim, E.J. Park, J.H. Kwon, Chemical and sensory quality of fresh pomegranate fruits exposed to gamma radiation as quarantine treatment. Food Chem. \u003cb\u003e145\u003c/b\u003e, 312\u0026ndash;318 (2014). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.08.052\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.08.052\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eE.G. Simmons, (2000). Alternaria themes and variations (244\u0026ndash;286) species on Solanaceae\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eH.J. Song, D.W. Choi, K. Song, Bin, Effect of aqueous chlorine dioxide and UV-C treatment on the microbial reduction and color of cherry tomatoes. Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. \u003cb\u003e52\u003c/b\u003e(5), 488\u0026ndash;493 (2011). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1007/S13580-011-0043-6\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1007/S13580-011-0043-6\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eE. Taha, R. Shoaib, Impact of Gamma Irradiation on Tomato, and Pepper Growth Parameters, Phytochemical, Nematode Infectivity and detection of DNA Damage by Comet Assay. J. Plant. Prot. Pathol. \u003cb\u003e12\u003c/b\u003e(9), 599\u0026ndash;608 (2021). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.21608/jppp.2021.92193.1032\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.21608/jppp.2021.92193.1032\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eH. Thordal-Christensen, Z. Zhang, Y. Wei, D.B. Collinge, Subcellular localization of H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e in plants. H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e accumulation in papillae and hypersensitive response during the barley-powdery mildew interaction. Plant J. \u003cb\u003e11\u003c/b\u003e, 1187\u0026ndash;1194 (1997). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-313X.1997.11061187.x\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1046/j.1365-313X.1997.11061187.x\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eM.M. Wall, S.A. Khan, (2008). Postharvest Quality of Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus spp.) after X-ray Irradiation Quarantine Treatment. In HORTSCIENCE (\u003cb\u003e43\u003c/b\u003e, Issue 7). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://journals.ashs.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://journals.ashs.org\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJ.M. Watkins, J.M. Chapman, G.K. Muday, Abscisic acid-induced reactive oxygen species are modulated by flavonols to control stomata aperture. Plant Physiol. \u003cb\u003e175\u003c/b\u003e, 1807\u0026ndash;1825 (2017). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1104/pp.17.01010\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1104/pp.17.01010\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eS.G. Wi, B.Y. Chung, J.S. Kim, J.H. Kim, M.H. Baek, J.W. Lee, Y.S. Kim, (2007). Effects of gamma irradiation on morphological changes and biological responses in plants. In Micron (Vol. 38, pp. 553\u0026ndash;564). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.micron.2006.11.002\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.micron.2006.11.002\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJ. Yang, W. Shi, B. Li, Y. Bai, Z. Hou, Preharvest and postharvest UV radiation affected flavonoid metabolism and antioxidant capacity differently in developing blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L). Food Chem. 301 (2019). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.125248\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.125248\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eK.N. Yoon, Y.S. Yoon, H.J. Hong, J.H. Park, B.S. Song, J.B. Eun, J.K. Kim, Gamma irradiation delays tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) ripening by inducing transcriptional changes. J. Sci. Food. Agric. \u003cb\u003e103\u003c/b\u003e(13), 6640\u0026ndash;6653 (2023). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.12760\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1002/jsfa.12760\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eQ. Zhang, W. Yang, J. Liu, H. Liu, Z. Lv, C. Zhang, D. Chen, Z. Jiao, Postharvest UV-C irradiation increased the flavonoids and anthocyanins accumulation, phenylpropanoid pathway gene expression, and antioxidant activity in sweet cherries (Prunus avium L). Postharvest Biol. Technol. 175 (2021). \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/J.POSTHARVBIO.2021.111490\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/J.POSTHARVBIO.2021.111490\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eN. Zieslin, R. Ben Zaken, Peroxidase activity and presence of phenolic substances in peduncles of rose flowers. Plant. Physiol. Biochem. \u003cb\u003e31\u003c/b\u003e, 333\u0026ndash;339 (1993)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Defence Enzymes, Gamma-radiation, Phenol, Post-harvest, Reactive-oxygen species, Tomato, Total Soluble Solids","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204178/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204178/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eTomato is a world-wide important agricultural crop which is prone to damage due to high water content and also for various biotic and abiotic stress. Gamma-radiation can be a sustainable method to compensate all the stress and improve its overall shelf-life. It can enhance tomato fruits\u0026rsquo; post-harvest shelf-life through enhancement of defence enzymes like Polyphenol oxidase (PPO), Peroxidase (PO), Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), overall improvement of Phenol, Flavonoid content, reduction in fungal infection severity and also by reducing weight loss percentage, decay percentage, improving fruit quality. The objective of the experiment to investigate the effects of gamma irradiation on postharvest quality and shelf life of tomato (\u003cem\u003eSolanum lycopersicum\u003c/em\u003e L.). Tomatoes of the local cultivar Pusa Rubi were exposed to different doses of gamma radiation (80 Gy, 100 Gy and 120 Gy) and observed for a storage period of 7 days, 14 days and 21 days. Biochemical, physiological and pathological parameters including phenolic and flavonoid content, defence enzyme activities (PAL, PO, PPO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), hydrogen peroxide (H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) accumulation, weight loss, decay percentage, and resistance to \u003cem\u003eAlternaria solani\u003c/em\u003e infection were measured. Based on the experiments, the most effective treatment was the 120 Gy dose. This level notably improved the tomatoes' natural defences against fungal attacks and reduced overall waste. The experiment concluded with the outcome that using gamma irradiation at 120 Gy is a promising method for keeping tomatoes fresh longer while preserving their quality after harvest.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Gamma-radiation Induced Modulation of Physical and Defence Enzymatic Dynamics in Post-harvest Tomato","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-27 09:14:20","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9204178/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"75f6e46c-b609-45d5-9fd6-9517c095721c","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 27th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-16T19:10:12+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-27 09:14:20","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9204178","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9204178","identity":"rs-9204178","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}