Cell Wall Architecture and Metabolism in Ripening Fruit and the Complex Relationship with Softening

This chapter discusses current perspectives of the composition and architecture of fruit cell walls, the molecular mechanisms involved in disassembly of the wall and the middle lamella, and a review of the growing number of factors that influence wall biology and associated fruit texture. The perception of the relationship between cell wall biology and fruit ripening is growing increasingly complex and the authors have progressed a long way from early convictions that “fruit softens primarily as a result of pectin degradation”. In conclusion, if “softening” is to be understood then all of the elements, and doubtless others whose connection with cell wall metabolism is still mysterious, must be considered in toto—a daunting and exciting prospect.