Successful completion of fruit developmental programs depends on the interplay between multiple phytohormones. However, besides ethylene, the impact of other hormones on fruit quality traits remains elusive. A previous study has shown that downregulation of SlARF4, a member of the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) auxin response factor (ARF) gene family, results in a darkgreen fruit phenotype with increased chloroplasts (Jones et al., 2002). This study further examines the role of this auxin transcriptional regulator during tomato fruit development at the level of transcripts, enzyme activities, and metabolites. It is noteworthy that the dark-green phenotype of antisense SlARF4-suppressed lines is restricted to fruit, suggesting that SlARF4 controls chlorophyll accumulation specifically in this organ. The SlARF4 underexpressing lines accumulate more starch at early stages of fruit development and display enhanced chlorophyll content and photochemical efficiency, which is consistent with the idea that fruit photosynthetic activity accounts for the elevated starch levels. SlARF4 expression is high in pericarp tissues of immature fruit and then undergoes a dramatic decline at the onset of ripening concomitant with the increase in sugar content. The higher starch content in developing fruits of SlARF4 down-regulated lines correlates with the up-regulation of genes and enzyme activities involved in starch biosynthesis, suggesting their negative regulation by SlARF4. Altogether, the data uncover the involvement of ARFs in the control of sugar content, an essential feature of fruit quality, and provide insight into the link between auxin signaling, chloroplastic activity, and sugar metabolism in developing fruit.

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Auxin is one of the most prominent phytohormones regulating many aspects of fleshy fruit development including fruit set, fruit size through the control of cell division and cell expansion, and fruit ripening. To shed light on the role of auxin fruit ripening, we have previously shown that Sl-ARF4 is a major player in mediating the auxin control of sugar metabolism in tomato fruit (cv MicroTom). Further extending this study, we show here that down-regulation of Sl-ARF4 in tomato alters some ripening-related fruit quality traits including enhanced fruit density at mature stage, increased firmness, prolonged shelf-life and reduced water (weight) loss at red ripe stage. These findings suggest that Sl-ARF4 plays a role in determining fruit cell wall architecture and thus providing a potential genetic marker for improving post-harvest handling and shelf life of tomato fruits.

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