title: Deciphering ascorbic acid regulatory pathways in ripening tomato fruit using a weighted gene correlation network analysis approach.
abstract: Genotype is generally determined by the co-expression of diverse genes and multiple regulatory pathways in plants. Gene co-expression analysis combining with physiological trait data provides very important information about the gene function and regulatory mechanism. L-Ascorbic acid (AsA), which is an essential nutrient component for human health and plant metabolism, plays key roles in diverse biological processes such as cell cycle, cell expansion, stress resistance, hormone synthesis, and signaling. Here, we applied a weighted gene correlation network analysis approach based on gene expression values and AsA content data in ripening tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit with different AsA content levels, which leads to identification of AsA relevant modules and vital genes in AsA regulatory pathways. Twenty-four modules were compartmentalized according to gene expression profiling. Among these modules, one negatively related module containing genes involved in redox processes and one positively related module enriched with genes involved in AsA biosynthetic and recycling pathways were further analyzed. The present work herein indicates that redox pathways as well as hormone-signal pathways are closely correlated with AsA accumulation in ripening tomato fruit, and allowed us to prioritize candidate genes for follow-up studies to dissect this interplay at the biochemical and molecular level.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Fruit Biology, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jinhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: Daqi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Huiqin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Yunbo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Benzhong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005638:Fruit / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics*; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014157:Transcription Factors; D001205:Ascorbic Acid
keywords: Gene co-expression; L-ascorbic acid; network; system biology; weighted gene correlation network analysis approach