Moderation of respiratory cascades and energy metabolism of fresh-cut pear fruit in response to high CO2 controlled atmosphere

[Display omitted] •10 % CO2 maintained energy charge and content of ATP and ADP of fresh-cut pear.•10 % CO2 promoted the coding gene expression and activity of CCO, SDH ATPase.•10 % CO2 maintained content of NADPH and NADP in response to adversity.•10 % CO2 promoted activity of NADK, G-6-PDH and 6-PGDH generating NADPH and NADP. Controlled atmosphere (CA) package serves as a nascent research tool in post-harvest, while validation of high levels of CO2 is plausible owing to the deficiency of biological understanding. Hence, the effect of 10 % CO2 on the respiration pathway and energy metabolism of fresh-cut pears was investigated in this study. During 5 days of storage, total respiratory rate was moderated with maintained mitochondrial membrane integrity and slowly increasing membrane permeability under 10 % CO2. Under 10 % CO2 CA package, the energy charge was 1.6 times than that of control. Enzymes involving in energy metabolism were induced or inhibited in activity and expression level. Comprehensively considering the changes among enzymes and genes, the preservative effects of high level of CO2 CA package on fresh-cut pear fruit could be divided into three aspects: inhibition of senescence, decrease of energy status and promotion of stress resistance. This work revealed the undergoing biochemical mechanism of how fresh-cut pear act in response to high CO2 CA package, from the perspective of respiration pathway and energy metabolism.