This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data All Versions of this Article: 147/2/823    most recent pp.108.116004v1 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 (15) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mintz-Oron, S. Articles by Aharoni, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mintz-Oron, S. Articles by Aharoni, A. Agricola Articles by Mintz-Oron, S. Articles by Aharoni, A.

SYSTEMS BIOLOGY, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, AND GENE REGULATION

Gene Expression and Metabolism in Tomato Fruit Surface Tissues^1,[C],[W]

Department of Plant Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel (S.M.-O., T.M., I.R., L.F., O.L., M.Y., I.V., A. Adato, A. Aharoni); Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, Faculty of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel (T.M.); and Departments of Botany (Z.W., R.J.) and Chemistry (R.J.), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4

The cuticle, covering the surface of all primary plant organs, plays important roles in plant development and protection against the biotic and abiotic environment. In contrast to vegetative organs, very little molecular information has been obtained regarding the surfaces of reproductive organs such as fleshy fruit. To broaden our knowledge related to fruit surface, comparative transcriptome and metabolome analyses were carried out on peel and flesh tissues during tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit development. Out of 574 peel-associated transcripts, 17% were classified as putatively belonging to metabolic pathways generating cuticular components, such as wax, cutin, and phenylpropanoids. Orthologs of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) SHINE2 and MIXTA-LIKE regulatory factors, activating cutin and wax biosynthesis and fruit epidermal cell differentiation, respectively, were also predominantly expressed in the peel. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using a flame ionization detector identified 100 metabolites that are enriched in the peel tissue during development. These included flavonoids, glycoalkaloids, and amyrin-type pentacyclic triterpenoids as well as polar metabolites associated with cuticle and cell wall metabolism and protection against photooxidative stress. Combined results at both transcript and metabolite levels revealed that the formation of cuticular lipids precedes phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis. Expression patterns of reporter genes driven by the upstream region of the wax-associated SlCER6 gene indicated progressive activity of this wax biosynthetic gene in both fruit exocarp and endocarp. Peel-associated genes identified in our study, together with comparative analysis of genes enriched in surface tissues of various other plant species, establish a springboard for future investigations of plant surface biology.

² These authors contributed equally to the article.

The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantphysiol.org) is: Asaph Aharoni (asaph.aharoni{at}weizmann.ac.il).

^[C] Some figures in this article are displayed in color online but in black and white in the print edition.

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

www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.108.116004

^* Corresponding author; e-mail asaph.aharoni{at}weizmann.ac.il.

Received January 9, 2008; accepted April 8, 2008; published April 25, 2008.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Bannenberg, M. Martinez, M. J. Rodriguez, M. A. Lopez, I. Ponce de Leon, M. Hamberg, and C. Castresana Functional Analysis of {alpha}-DOX2, an Active {alpha}-Dioxygenase Critical for Normal Development in Tomato Plants Plant Physiology, November 1, 2009; 151(3): 1421 - 1432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Mounet, A. Moing, V. Garcia, J. Petit, M. Maucourt, C. Deborde, S. Bernillon, G. Le Gall, I. Colquhoun, M. Defernez, et al. Gene and Metabolite Regulatory Network Analysis of Early Developing Fruit Tissues Highlights New Candidate Genes for the Control of Tomato Fruit Composition and Development Plant Physiology, March 1, 2009; 149(3): 1505 - 1528. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Malitsky, E. Blum, H. Less, I. Venger, M. Elbaz, S. Morin, Y. Eshed, and A. Aharoni The Transcript and Metabolite Networks Affected by the Two Clades of Arabidopsis Glucosinolate Biosynthesis Regulators Plant Physiology, December 1, 2008; 148(4): 2021 - 2049. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]