Blueberry fruit have a shelf life of 2 to 4 weeks at 0 to 4 °C. Blueberries lose water, soften, shrivel, and mold during storage. Aquaporins (AQPs), transmembrane proteins that transport water across cell membranes, have been proposed as important in weight loss of stored blueberry fruit. AQP transcriptional regulation was followed in blueberries during postharvest storage. Five AQPs were found to be regulated in response to water loss during postharvest storage. Additionally, application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) was tried as a practical method to improve postharvest blueberry fruit quality. Fully ripe fruit from three southern highbush blueberry cultivars (‘Star’, ‘Rebel’, ‘Legacy’) were harvested and stored at 4 °C for 17-18 days then at 2 days at room temperature following postharvest applications of methyl jasmonate. Although quality losses increased with storage time and were greatly accelerated at room temperature, no effect of methyljasmonate was found on blueberry quality.
