Genetics and Control of Tomato Fruit Ripening and Quality Attributes

Abstract

Tomato ripening is a highly coordinated developmental process that coincides with seed maturation. Regulated expression of thousands of genes controls fruit softening as well as accumulation of pigments, sugars, acids, and volatile compounds that increase attraction to animals. A combination of molecular tools and ripening-affected mutants has permitted researchers to establish a framework for the control of ripening. Tomato is a climacteric fruit, with an absolute requirement for the phytohormone ethylene to ripen. This dependence upon ethylene has established tomato fruit ripening as a model system for study of regulation of its synthesis and perception. In addition, several important ripening mutants, including rin, nor, and Cnr, have provided novel insights into the control of ripening processes. Here, we describe how ethylene and the transcription factors associated with the ripening process fit together into a network controlling ripening.

Genome sequence of the hot pepper provides insights into the evolution of pungency in Capsicum species

“…Climacteric fruits such as tomato and banana display increases in respiration rate and ethylene synthesis during ripening. Non-climacteric fruits such as pepper and strawberry exhibit neither a respiratory burst nor elevated ethylene production during ripening 42 . Thus, pepper and tomato provide suitable models for comparisons of fruit ripening processes.…”

Critical roles of DNA demethylation in the activation of ripening-induced genes and inhibition of ripening-repressed genes in tomato fruit

“…Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is an economically important crop and a model for studying fleshy fruit ripening. Fruit ripening is associated with distinct physiological, biochemical, and structural changes, such as the accumulation of sugars, flavor volatiles, and pigments, and the hydrolysis of cell walls (23). These changes are driven by phytohormones and developmental factors.…”

“…These changes are driven by phytohormones and developmental factors. Ethylene is one of the most important factors promoting ripening, especially for climacteric fruits, which show a rapid increase in ethylene level during ripening (23). In addition, several transcription factors (TFs), including RIPENING INHIBITOR (RIN), NON-RIPENING (NOR), and COLORLESS NON-RIPENING (CNR), have been identified as major ripening regulators.…”

Alteration of the Interconversion of Pyruvate and Malate in the Plastid or Cytosol of Ripening Tomato Fruit Invokes Diverse Consequences on Sugar But Similar Effects on Cellular Organic Acid, Metabolism, and Transitory Starch Accumulation

“…Fruit ripening and development is well established to be under tight genetic control (Matas et al, 2009;Karlova et al, 2011;Klee and Giovannoni, 2011). A growing body of evidence suggests that, in parallel, large metabolic shifts additionally occur during this process (Carrari and Fernie, 2006;Osorio et al, 2011).…”