This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data All Versions of this Article: 136/4/4184    most recent pp.104.045765v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Web of Science (16) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Eriksson, E. M. Articles by Seymour, G. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Eriksson, E. M. Articles by Seymour, G. B. Agricola Articles by Eriksson, E. M. Articles by Seymour, G. B.

GENETICS, GENOMICS, AND MOLECULAR EVOLUTION

Effect of the Colorless non-ripening Mutation on Cell Wall Biochemistry and Gene Expression during Tomato Fruit Development and Ripening^1,[w]

Warwick HRI, Wellesbourne, Warwick CV35 9EF, United Kingdom (E.M.E., K.M., L.H., J.A., G.B.S.); Plant Research International, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands (A.B.); Unilever Research and Development, Colworth, Sharnbrook, Bedford MK44 1LQ, United Kingdom (J.D.S.); and Division of Nutritional Biochemistry, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, Leics LE12 5RD, United Kingdom (G.A.T.)

The Colorless non-ripening (Cnr) mutation in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) results in mature fruits with colorless pericarp tissue showing an excessive loss of cell adhesion (A.J. Thompson, M. Tor, C.S. Barry, J. Vrebalov, C. Orfila, M.C. Jarvis, J.J. Giovannoni, D. Grierson, G.B. Seymour [1999] Plant Physiol 120: 383–390). This pleiotropic mutation is an important tool for investigating the biochemical and molecular basis of cell separation during ripening. This study reports on the changes in enzyme activity associated with cell wall disassembly in Cnr and the effect of the mutation on the program of ripening-related gene expression. Real-time PCR and biochemical analysis demonstrated that the expression and activity of a range of cell wall-degrading enzymes was altered in Cnr during both development and ripening. These enzymes included polygalacturonase, pectinesterase (PE), galactanase, and xyloglucan endotransglycosylase. In the case of PE, the protein product of the ripening-related isoform PE2 was not detected in the mutant. In contrast with wild type, Cnr fruits were rich in basic chitinase and peroxidase activity. A microarray and differential screen were used to profile the pattern of gene expression in wild-type and Cnr fruits. They revealed a picture of the gene expression in the mutant that was largely consistent with the real-time PCR and biochemical experiments. Additionally, these experiments demonstrated that the Cnr mutation had a profound effect on many aspects of ripening-related gene expression. This included a severe reduction in the expression of ripening-related genes in mature fruits and indications of premature expression of some of these genes in immature fruits. The program of gene expression in Cnr resembles to some degree that found in dehiscence or abscission zones. We speculate that there is a link between events controlling cell separation in tomato, a fleshy fruit, and those involved in the formation of dehiscence zones in dry fruits.

^[w] The online version of this article contains Web-only data.

Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.104.045765.

^* Corresponding author; e-mail graham.seymour{at}warwick.ac.uk; fax 44(0)24–76–574500.

Received May 5, 2004; returned for revision October 4, 2004; accepted October 12, 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. M. Santos, M. J. Oliver, A. M. Sanchez, P. R. Payton, J. P. Gomes, C. Miguel, and M. M. Oliveira An integrated strategy to identify key genes in almond adventitious shoot regeneration J. Exp. Bot., October 1, 2009; 60(14): 4159 - 4173. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. J. Ordaz-Ortiz, S. E. Marcus, and J. Paul Knox Cell Wall Microstructure Analysis Implicates Hemicellulose Polysaccharides in Cell Adhesion in Tomato Fruit Pericarp Parenchyma Mol Plant, September 1, 2009; 2(5): 910 - 921. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Q. Liu, A. Zhu, L. Chai, W. Zhou, K. Yu, J. Ding, J. Xu, and X. Deng Transcriptome analysis of a spontaneous mutant in sweet orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] during fruit development J. Exp. Bot., March 1, 2009; 60(3): 801 - 813. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. E. Bartley and B. K. Ishida Ethylene-sensitive and insensitive regulation of transcription factor expression during in vitro tomato sepal ripening J. Exp. Bot., June 1, 2007; 58(8): 2043 - 2051. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Saladie, A. J. Matas, T. Isaacson, M. A. Jenks, S. M. Goodwin, K. J. Niklas, R. Xiaolin, J. M. Labavitch, K. A. Shackel, A. R. Fernie, et al. A Reevaluation of the Key Factors That Influence Tomato Fruit Softening and Integrity Plant Physiology, June 1, 2007; 144(2): 1012 - 1028. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Carrari and A. R. Fernie Metabolic regulation underlying tomato fruit development J. Exp. Bot., June 1, 2006; 57(9): 1883 - 1897. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]