Fuente: ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Science) Post date: Wednesday 3 September 2025
Author:
ISHS Secretariat

Didiana Gálvez-López is a young professor in the Bioscience Institute, in the Autonomous University of Chiapas, Mexico. Didiana’s research is focused on identifying biological and nutritional attributes of native mango germplasm from southern Mexico using strategies such as genetics, biochemical and physicochemical methods, for future breeding. In Chiapas, there is a wide range of native mangoes with diverse pigmentation, ranging from green to yellow, red and intermediate colors. While many of these mangos have not been commercialized, they constitute an important pool of genes that could help to improve commercial cultivars, mainly with regard to climate change adaptation, but also for nutritional value. The accumulation of pigments is largely determined by the expression of genes involved in the phenylpropanoid-flavonoid biosynthetic pathway, such as the PAL and CHS genes, which are involved in the production of anthocyanin precursors. In some mango cultivars, high expression of these genes has been found to increase anthocyanin production in the fruit, which is reflected in higher nutritional quality, and an increase in the plant’s defense mechanisms against adverse biotic and abiotic factors. In this paper, the objective was to determine the expression of the PAL and CHS genes in green, yellow and red pigmented mango fruits from Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico, at physiological maturity using RT-PCR. Results showed a higher level of expression of the CHS gene in the native germplasm than the PAL gene. The CHS gene was also found to have the highest expression levels in the green ‘Tecolote’ and ‘Piña’ mangoes, followed by the yellow ‘Manililla’ and ‘Ataulfo’ mangoes, and finally in the red ‘Alcanfor’ and ‘Payaso’ mangoes. These findings suggest that green mangoes produce higher amounts of anthocyanins, making them ideal as fruits with high nutritional quality and as candidates for use as rootstocks in commercial orchards.
Didiana Gálvez-López won the ISHS Young Minds Award for the best oral presentation at the XIV International Mango Symposium in Mexico in May 2025.
Didiana Gálvez-López, Instituto de Biociencias, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas, Tapachula, 30798 Chiapas, Mexico, e-mail: didiana.galvez@unach.mx
The article is available in Chronica HorticulturaeTags: mangoCategories: Young Minds Award Winners