The effect of heat treatment on some cell wall genes involved in ripening such as - galactosidase ( -GAL),pectin lyase (PL), polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methyl esterase (PME), was analyzed by qRT-PCR.The expression levels of defense related genes, phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and chitinase (CHI),heat stress-related genes such as heat shock proteins 70 and 90 (HSP70, HSP90), and reactive oxygenspecies (ROS) scavenging genes were also evaluated by qRT-PCR