International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.5, 218-233 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 218 Research Report Open Access Formation Mechanisms of Stem Sweetness and Texture in Fresh-Eating Sugarcane: Sugar Metabolism, Cell Wall Modification, and Gene Expression Regulation Wenzhong Huang 1, Kaiwen Liang 2 1 Biomass Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resouces, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China 2 Resource Utilization Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding author: kaiwen.liang@hitar.org International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.5 doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0023 Received: 01 Jun., 2025 Accepted: 15 Sep., 2025 Published: 08 Oct., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Huang and Liang, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Huang W.Z., and Liang K.W., 2025, Formation mechanisms of stem sweetness and texture in fresh-eating sugarcane: sugar metabolism, cell wall modification, and gene expression regulation, International Journal of Horticulture, 15(5): 218-233 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0023) Abstract Fresh sugarcane is widely loved by consumers for its high sugar content and excellent texture. The sweetness and texture of the stems are the core indicators of its quality evaluation. This study systematically reviewed the main mechanisms of sweetness and texture formation of fresh sugarcane stems, focusing on the role of key enzymes such as SuSy, SPS and invertase in the sugar metabolism pathway, the regulation of sugar transporters such as SWEET and SUT, and the accumulation dynamics of sucrose, glucose and fructose at different developmental stages. At the same time, the functional mechanisms of cell wall polysaccharide structure, lignin synthesis, and cell wall modification enzymes such as swollenin and pectinase in texture formation were also systematically explained. At the gene expression level, this study explored the spatiotemporal expression patterns of sugar metabolism and cell wall-related genes and the synergistic effects of transcription factors such as NAC, MYB, and bZIP in regulating quality traits, analyzed the effects of hormones (auxin, gibberellin, ethylene) and environmental factors (light, temperature) on related pathways, and finally compared the molecular regulation differences of different varieties such as purple skin and green skin, tender and crisp and crude fiber, in order to provide theoretical support for the molecular breeding of fresh sugarcane and provide direction for the future of multi-omics and precision breeding. Keywords Fresh sugarcane; Sweetness; Texture; Sugar metabolism; Cell wall modification; Gene expression 1 Introduction As a high-sugar crop with both edible value and economic benefits, fresh sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is widely cultivated in many provinces and regions in southern my country (Chen et al., 2022). Its main characteristics include high sucrose content, rich juice, crisp taste, and easy peeling. It is a special economic crop that combines fruit use and ornamental (Liu et al., 2024). With the improvement of residents' consumption level and the enhancement of health awareness, the demand for fresh sugarcane in the domestic and foreign markets continues to expand, and the added value of the industry has increased significantly, which has positive significance for optimizing the planting structure and promoting farmers' income. In the quality evaluation system of fresh sugarcane, sweetness and texture are the two most critical indicators. Sweetness directly determines the edible quality and consumer preference, and its level is mainly regulated by the content of sucrose, glucose and fructose in the stem; while texture is related to the chewing experience, which is jointly determined by factors such as cell wall structure, lignin content and cell wall enzyme activity (Liu et al., 2024). However, in actual breeding, high sweetness is often accompanied by an increase in the degree of tissue lignification, which reduces the palatability of texture. Therefore, in-depth analysis of the synergistic regulation mechanism of sweetness and texture is of great scientific and practical significance for breaking the negative correlation between quality traits and achieving the breeding goal of "sweet and crisp" high-quality sugarcane (Huang and Li, 2024). This study will systematically sort out the physiological and molecular mechanisms of sweetness and texture formation in fresh sugarcane stalks, and analyze the core contents such as sugar metabolism-related enzymes
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