Abstract: To investigate the changes in endogenous hormone contents of various berry tissues during the development of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon and further to examine their relationship with berry ripening, abscisic acid (ABA), indole acetic acid (IAA), gibberellin A3 (GA3), jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) in grape seeds, skin and pulp were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The results indicated that the variation of ABA in grape pulp and skin showed a double S-shaped trend during the development of grape berries. At 20 days after anthesis (20 DAA), the ABA level was relatively high, and the ABA levels in pulp and skin decreased before veraison, and then increased until the middle of veraison, followed by a slow decrease until ripening. GA3 and JA were changed in a similar pattern. Both of them first increased rapidly followed by a decrease at the fruit expansion stage and then showed a bell-shaped trend during veraison. IAA contents in grape pulp and skin first decreased slightly followed by a rapid increase until reaching a peak during the rapid developmental stage of grape berries, and then gradually decreased and remained stable during the subsequent veraison. IAA contents in grape seeds were high before the beginning of the fruit expansion stage, and then declined and remained at a low level after entering the fruit expansion stage. Similar changes were observed for SA. Conclusion: ABA, GA3 and JA were related to the ripening of Cabernet Sauvignon, while IAA, GA3, SA and JA were related to the development of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Key words: hormones, grape, regulation, ripening, skin, pulp, seed