Alleviation of the degradation of cell wall pectin contributes to the maintenance of integrity of papaya (Carica papaya L.) fruit tissue during abnormal chilling injury behavior

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is highly susceptible to chilling injury (CI), which primarily causes surface pitting, black scald, susceptibility to fungal infection, and the breakdown of tissue. It developed rapidly at 6 °C but was significantly suppressed at 1 °C, which indicated that the papaya tissue was more solid at a lower temperature. This rare phenomenon is considered to be abnormal CI behavior. The maintenance of fruit tissue integrity during abnormal CI behavior may be related to modifications of the cell wall pectin. The modifications of cell wall pectin were studied during storage at 1 and 6 °C. Storage at 1 °C alleviated the progression of CI and inhibited the degradation of pectin components and cell wall structure of papaya fruit. The increase in water-soluble pectin and the solubilization of cyclohexanediamine tetraacetic acid- (CDTA-) and sodium carbonate (Na