In order to understand more details about the role of abscisic acid (ABA) in fruit ripening and senescence, six 740 bp cDNAs (LeNCED1, LeNCED2, PpNCED1, VVNCED1, DKNCED1 and CMNCED1) which encode 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) as a key enzyme in ABA biosynthesis, were cloned from fruits of tomato, peach, grape, persimmon and melon using an RT-PCR approach. A Blast homology search reve...

Seedlings of tomato fruit ripening mutants were screened for their ability to respond to ethylene. Ethylene induced the triple response in etiolated hypocotyls of all tomato ripening mutants tested except for one, Never ripe (Nr). Our results indicated that the lack of ripening in this mutant is caused by ethylene insensitivity. Segregation analysis indicated that Nr-associated ethylene insensi...

Transcript abundance of the gene encoding -galactosidase II, a -galactosidase/exo-galactanase (EC 3.2.1.23) present during tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) fruit ripening, was suppressed by expression of an antisense tomato -galactosidase 4 (TBG4) cDNA driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. RNA gel-blot analysis was used to evaluate TBG4 mRNA levels in transgenic fruit. All of the...

The maturation and ripening of fleshy fruits contributes a major component of human diets, nutrition and agricultural activity. While ripening brings about highly desirable changes in fruit character and chemistry in terms of flavor, appearance, texture and nutrition, the advanced stages of ripening lead to sub-optimal fruit quality and eventually post-harvest loss. Fruit biologists have studie...

Shelf life is one of the most important traits for the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) industry. Two key factors, post-harvest over-ripening and susceptibility to post-harvest pathogen infection, determine tomato shelf life. Anthocyanins accumulate in the skin of Aft/Aft atv/atv tomatoes, the result of introgressing alleles affecting anthocyanin biosynthesis in fruit from two wild relatives of to...

Fruit ripening is a developmental process that is exclusive to plants whereby mature seed-bearing organs undergo physiological and metabolic changes that promote seed dispersal. Molecular investigations into ripening control mechanisms have been aided by the recent cloning of tomato ripening genes that were previously known only through mutation. Advances in the genomics of tomato have provided...

To investigate mechanisms that control fruit development, we have begun experiments to identify proteins that control gene expression during tomato fruit ripening. We focused on the regulation of two different genes, E4 and E8, whose transcription is coordinately activated at the onset of fruit ripening. We report here that a DNA-binding protein specifically reacts with similar sequences flanki...

Fruits can be divided into two groups according to the regulatory mechanisms underlying their ripening process. Climacteric fruit, such as tomato, apple, pear, and melon are characterized by a ripening-associated increase in respiration and in ethylene production, the phytohormone ethylene being the major trigger and coordinator of the ripening process. By contrast, nonclimacteric fruits, such ...

Fruits are generally regarded as photosynthate sinks as they rely on energy provided by sugars transported from leaves to carry out the highly demanding processes of development and ripening; eventually these imported photosynthates also contribute to the fruit organoleptic properties. Three recent reports have revealed, however, that transcriptional factors enhancing chloroplast development in...

The pressure microprobe was used to determine whether the turgor pressure in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., variety "Castelmart") pericarp cells changed during fruit ripening. The turgor pressure of cells located 200 to 500 micrometers below the fruit epidermis was uniform within the same tissue (typically +/- 0.02 megapascals), and the highest turgors observed (<0.2 megapascals) were m...