title: Fruits from ripening impaired, chlorophyll degraded and jasmonate insensitive tomato mutants have altered tocopherol content and composition.
abstract: Since isoprenoids are precursors in chlorophyll, carotenoid and tocopherol pathways, the study of their metabolism is of fundamental importance in understanding the regulatory cross-talk that contributes to the nutritional quality of tomato fruits. By means of an integrated analysis of metabolite and gene expression profiles, isoprenoid metabolism was dissected in ripening-impaired (ripening inhibitor and non-ripening), senescence-related (lutescent1 and green flesh) and jasmonate insensitive (jasmonic acid insensitive 1-1) tomato mutants, all in the Micro-Tom genetic background. It was found that the more upstream the location of the mutated gene, the more extensive the effect on the transcriptional profiles of the isoprenoid-related genes. Although there was a distinct effect in the analyzed mutations on chlorophyll, carotenoid and tocopherol metabolism, a metabolic adjustment was apparent such the antioxidant capacity mostly remained constant. Transcriptional profiles from fruits of ripening and senescence-related tomato mutants suggested that maintenance of the de novo phytyl diphosphate synthesis might, in later ripening stages, compensate for the lack of chlorophyll-derived phytol used in tocopherol production. Interestingly, an impairment in jasmonate perception led to higher total tocopherol levels in ripe fruits, accompanied by an increase in antioxidant capacity, highlighting the contribution of tocopherols to this nutritionally important trait.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: juliana.almeida.silva@usp.br.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: CIBICI, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. Electronic address: rasis@fcq.unc.edu.ar.
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Asís
authors.affiliation: CIBICI, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. Electronic address: vicky_412@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Virginia Noel
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Molineri
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Curitibanos, Curitibanos, SC, Brazil. Electronic address: ivan.sestari@ufsc.br.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sestari
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: bslira.bsl@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bruno Silvestre
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Lira
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biotecnología, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: carrari.fernando@inta.gob.ar.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carrari
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: lazaro.peres@usp.br.
authors.forename: Lázaro Eustáquio Pereira
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Peres
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: mmrossi@usp.br.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rossi
mesh_terms: D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003517:Cyclopentanes / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D005638:Fruit / Q000378:metabolism*; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D054883:Oxylipins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D024505:Tocopherols / Q000032:analysis*; D014810:Vitamin E
chemical_list: D003517:Cyclopentanes; D054883:Oxylipins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014810:Vitamin E; D002734:Chlorophyll; C011006:jasmonic acid; D024505:Tocopherols
keywords: Antioxidant capacity; Atocopherol; Carotenoids; Chlorophyll; Jasmonic acid; Ripening; Solanaceae; Solanum lycopersicum; Tomato mutants