The Respiratory Pattern in the Tomato Fruit and its Alteration by Infiltration with Various Chemicals

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Abstract
Respiratory patterns during ripening were determined on intact tomato fruits, tissue slices, and mltochondrial preparations. The climacteric was found to be a characteristic of intact fruits only. Respiration of tissue slices was highest at the mature green (preclimacteric) stage and showed a continual decline as ripening progressed. The capacity of mitochondrial preparations to oxidize malate and pyruvate decreased sharply during a ripening in a pattern similar to respiration of tissue slices. However, P/O ratios remained rather constant. Respiration of pre- and postclimacteric fruits was not stimulated by in-organic phosphate of 1-malic acid. Respiration was stimulated by 2,4-dinitrophenol at both pre- and postclimacteric stages, indicating that availability of ADP limits respiration of intact fruits.