Haiyan Gao

School of life sciences, Shanghai University

Fresh agricultural products are an important food source for mankind. China's fruit production in 2021 was 299 million tons and vegetable production was 775 million tons, both of which were the first in the world. However, due to the easy deterioration and decay of fresh agricultural products after harvesting. According to statistics, China's fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products have a loss rate of 25% to 30% in the logistics links of picking, transportation, storage, etc., resulting in huge economic losses. Therefore, the problem of anticorrosion and preservation has always been an urgent problem to be solved in the development of the fresh agricultural product industry. The infection of pathogenic microorganisms is the main cause of food safety risks and the decay of fresh agricultural products after harvest. Fresh-keeping agents of biological sources (plant sources and microbial sources) can overcome the shortcomings of chemical fungicides and have the advantages of green, ecological and environmental protection.

This project analyzes the main microbial diseases of representative large-scale perishable fruit and vegetable varieties in East China in the process of planting, storage and logistics. By clarifying the pathogenic factors and infection process of microorganisms after harvesting of different fruits, biological sources (plant sources and microbial sources) potential fresh-keeping agents have been screened. The metabolites and volatile organic compounds of fermentation liquid have been resolved, and the main active components and application conditions of microbial agent have been evaluated. The inhibition mechanism of small molecular substances, volatile components, and enzymes from fresh-keeping agents was clarified using multi-omics technology. The large-scale fermentation production technology of biocontrol microorganisms and metabolic components has been established and optimized, and its regulatory effect and antifungal effect in typal fruits and vegetables such as peaches, grapes, tomatoes, etc. have been clarified.

Using the bio-derived compound preservatives, this project has established a bio-derived green prevention and control technology for the fruit preservation industrial chain, which can provide a strong guarantee for the quality and food safety of fresh fruits in the whole process of logistics and distribution.