title: Tomato FRUITFULL homologs regulate fruit ripening via ethylene biosynthesis.
abstract: Certain MADS-box transcription factors play central roles in regulating fruit ripening. RIPENING INHIBITOR (RIN), a tomato MADS-domain protein, acts as a global regulator of ripening, affecting the climacteric rise of ethylene, pigmentation changes, and fruit softening. Previously, we showed that two MADS-domain proteins, the FRUITFULL homologs FUL1 and FUL2, form complexes with RIN. Here, we characterized the FUL1/FUL2 loss-of-function phenotype in co-suppressed plants. The transgenic plants produced ripening-defective fruits accumulating little or no lycopene. Unlike a previous study on FUL1/FUL2 suppressed tomatoes, our transgenic fruits showed very low levels of ethylene production, and this was associated with suppression of the genes for 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase, a rate-limiting enzyme in ethylene synthesis. FUL1/FUL2 suppression also caused the fruit to soften in a manner independent of ripening, possibly due to reduced cuticle thickness in the peel of the suppressed tomatoes.
authors.affiliation: a National Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization , Tsukuba , Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shima
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.forename: Mamiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.forename: Toshitsugu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Junji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kimbara
authors.forename: Nobutaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiina
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Toshihide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kasumi
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D005030:Ethylenes / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005638:Fruit / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D005030:Ethylenes; D010940:Plant Proteins; C036216:ethylene
keywords: FRUITFULL (FUL); MADS-domain protein; ethylene; ripening inhibitor (RIN)