title: Carotenoid profiling and biosynthetic gene expression in flesh and peel of wild-type and hp-1 tomato fruit under UV-B depletion.
abstract: Although light is recognized as one of the main factors influencing fruit carotenogenesis, the specific role of UV-B radiation has been poorly investigated. The present work is addressed to assess the molecular events underlying carotenoid accumulation in presence or absence of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) light in tomato fruits of wild-type and high pigment-1 (hp-1), a mutant characterized by exaggerated photoresponsiveness and increased fruit pigmentation. Gene expression analyses indicated that in wild-type fruits UV-B radiation mainly negatively affects the carotenoid biosynthetic genes encoding enzymes downstream of lycopene both in flesh and peel, suggesting that the down-regulation of genes CrtL-b and CrtL-e and the subsequent accumulation of lycopene during tomato ripening are determined at least in part by UV-B light. In contrast to wild-type, UV-B depletion did not greatly affect carotenoid accumulation in hp-1 and generally determined minor differences in gene expression between control and UV-B-depleted conditions.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia delle Piante Agrarie, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, I-56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lazzeri
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Calvenzani
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Petroni
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tonelli
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castagna
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ranieri
mesh_terms: D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000528:radiation effects*; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D009154:Mutation; D010858:Pigmentation / Q000528:radiation effects; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D010860:Pigments, Biological; D010940:Plant Proteins; D002338:Carotenoids