Tomato is a climacteric fruit whose ripening is regulated by the plant hormone ethylene. 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) is a competitive ethylene inhibitor that can delay the fruit ripening process. To understand the molecular mechanism of how 1-MCP inhibits tomato fruit ripening, transcriptomics (RNA-Seq) was used to identify genes that were differentially expressed in 1-MCP-treated (Day 1) tomato fruits. Of the 35340 genes in the tomato genome, about 50% were expressed with 1-MCP treatment. There were 5683 genes identified as significantly differentially expressed. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) assays were used to validate the RNA-Seq data. Our results showed that 1-MCP treatment resulted in the down-regulation of fruit ripening-related genes, including genes involved in ethylene synthesis, signal transduction and carotenoid biosynthesis. Our results provide insight at the whole genome level regarding gene regulation by 1-MCP during fruit ripening. Understanding the molecular basis of 1-MCP inhibition on tomato ripening may help farmers and food processors to better use 1-MCP in agriculture and food industry.
In our previous report, boron derivatives of methylene cyclopropane complexes (B-MCP) were developed to stabilize the gaseous 1-MCP (1-methylcyclopropene), a commercial plant growth regulator, for eventual release in open crop fields when under humid conditions or in contact with water. To meet the requirements of various end-use applications, B-MCP compounds that can release 1-MCP at different rates for different time periods are demanded. In this paper, we examined the impact of different environmental stimuli such as humidity, surface area, water pH and water volume on the release kinetics of 1-MCP from B-MCP compounds of various chemical structures. The results showed that the release of 1-MCP from B-MCP compounds can be tailored by altering the architectures and chemical natures of the two short-chain moieties attached to the boron atom and thus either the electronic affinity or the hydrophobic or hydrophilic properties or both.
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