Fruit softening is an important part of the ripening process, and involves changes to cell turgor and primary cell wall structure. Most of the polysaccharide components of the cell wall are subjected to some degree of controlled degradation, resulting in a loosening and swelling of the wall structure, a weakening of cell wall strength, and reduced intercellular adhesion. Early ripening changes ...

Ethylene is a plant hormone that has an essential role in fruit ripening (Yang and Hoffman, 1984; Kende, 1993). ACC synthase (S-adenosyl-L-methionine methylethioadenosine-lyase, EC 4.4.1.14), which is encoded by a multigene family, plays a regulatory role in ethylene production. Severa1 genes for ACC synthase have been isolated from tomato (Rottmann et al., 1991), mung bean (Botella et al., 199...

CONTEXT Although studies support the efficacy of the Foley catheter (FC) as a cervical ripening agent in pregnant women at term with intact membranes, its efficacy has not been well studied in women with premature rupture of membranes (PROM). OBJECTIVE To compare the interval to delivery in women with PROM who underwent induction of labor and cervical ripening with mechanical (FC) vs nonmecha...

Fruit ripening in citrus is not well-understood at the molecular level. Knowledge of the regulatory mechanism of citrus fruit ripening at the post-transcriptional level in particular is lacking. Here, we comparatively analyzed the miRNAs and their target genes in a spontaneous late-ripening mutant, "Fengwan" sweet orange (MT) (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck), and its wild-type counterpart ("Fengjie ...

The cervix represents a formidable structural barrier for successful induction of labor. Approximately 10% of pregnancies undergo induction of cervical ripening and labor with prostaglandin (PG) E2 or PGE analogs, often requiring many hours of hospitalization and monitoring. On the other hand, preterm cervical ripening in the second trimester predicts preterm birth. The regulatory mechanisms of...

This research was carried out at the laboratories of Food Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University, to investigate the effect of high temperatures on accelerating the ripening of kachcaval cheese, through determining the chemical and sensory indicators of ripened cheese using three temperatures (16°C, 20°C for a week) then completing the ripening process up to 60 days at ...

Abscisic acid (ABA) regulates plant development and adaptation to environmental conditions. Although the ABA biosynthesis pathway in plants has been thoroughly elucidated, how ABA biosynthetic genes are regulated at the molecular level during plant development is less well understood. Here, we show that the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) zinc finger transcription factor SlZFP2 is involved in the...

Ethylene plays an essential role in many biological processes including fruit ripening via modulation of ethylene signaling pathway. Ethylene Response Factors (ERFs) are key transcription factors (TFs) involved in ethylene perception and are divided into AP2, RAV, ERF, and DREB sub-families. Although a number of studies have implicated the involvement of DREB sub-family genes in stress response...

Breeding for better quality fruits is a major focus for tomatoes, which are continuously subjected to post-harvest losses. Several methods have been used to improve the fruit shelf life of tomatoes, including the use of ripening gene mutants of Solanum lycopersicum. We developed extended shelf-life tomato hybrids with better quality fruits using ripening mutants. Nine tomato crosses were develo...

Increasing incidence of food-borne disease along with its social and economic consequences have led to conducting extensive research in order to produce safer food and develop new antimicrobial agents; among them, extensive use of probiotics and bacteriocins as biological additives is of significant importance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the interactions (growth behavior and s...