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...

Fruit ripening in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) requires the coordination of both developmental cues as well as the plant hormone ethylene. Although the role of ethylene in mediating climacteric ripening has been established, knowledge regarding the developmental regulators that modulate the involvement of ethylene in tomato fruit ripening is still lacking. Here, we show that the tomato APETALA...

The hormone ethylene regulates many aspects of plant growth and development, including fruit ripening. In transgenic tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants, antisense inhibition of ethylene biosynthetic genes results in inhibited or delayed ripening. The dominant tomato mutant, Never-ripe (Nr), is insensitive to ethylene and fruit fail to ripen. The Nr phenotype results from mutation of the et...

Sweet cherry, a non-climacteric fruit, is usually cold-stored during post-harvest to prevent over-ripening. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of abscisic acid (ABA) on fruit growth and ripening of this fruit, considering as well its putative implication in over-ripening and effects on quality. We measured the endogenous concentrations of ABA during the ripening of sweet cherries (Pr...

Auxin has been shown to modulate the fruit ripening process. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying auxin regulation of fruit ripening are still not clear. Illumina RNA sequencing was performed on mature green cherry tomato fruit 1 and 7 days after auxin treatment, with untreated fruit as a control. The results showed that exogenous auxin maintained system 1 ethylene synthesis and delayed...

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 ...

Natural mutants of the Non-ripening (Nor) gene repress the normal ripening of tomato fruit. The molecular mechanism of fruit ripening regulation by the Nor gene is unclear. To elucidate how the Nor gene can affect ripening and fruit quality at the protein level, we used the fruits of Nor mutants and wild-type Ailsa Craig (AC) to perform iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitatio...

Fruit development and ripening are unique to plants and represent an important component of human and animal diets. Recent discoveries have shed light on the molecular basis of developmental ripening control, suggested common regulators of climacteric and nonclimacteric ripening physiology, and defined a new role for MADS box genes in this late stage of floral development. Analyses of fruit-rip...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play vital roles in the regulation of fruit development and ripening. Blueberry is an important small berry fruit crop with economical and nutritional value. However, nothing is known about the miRNAs and their targets involved in blueberry fruit ripening. In this study, using high-throughput sequencing of small RNAs, 84 known miRNAs belonging to 28 families and 16 novel miRN...

Purpose of review: This review aims at presenting the actual and potential contribution of genomics to the understanding of the fruit ripening process and to the genetic improvement of fruit quality and storability. Findings: The advent of high throughput technologies for the sequencing of mRNAs and genomic DNA has sped up the study of gene expression and the decoding of the genome of fruit spe...