title: Involvement of an ethylene response factor in chlorophyll degradation during citrus fruit degreening.
abstract: Chlorophyll degradation naturally occurs during plant senescence. However, in fruit such as citrus, it is a positive characteristic, as degreening is an important colour development contributing to fruit quality. In the present work, Citrus sinensis Osbeck, cv. Newhall fruit was used as a model for chlorophyll degradation. An ethylene response factor, CitERF13, was isolated and its transcriptional changes were closely correlated with fruit peel degreening during development or in response to ethylene. Dual-luciferase and yeast one-hybrid assays, as well as motif mutation, indicated that CitERF13 directly binds to the CitPPH promoter and enhances its activity. Transient and stable over-expression of CitERF13 resulted in rapid chlorophyll degradation in Nicotiana tabacum leaves and led to accumulation of pheophorbide (Pheide) a, a metabolite of pheophorbide hydrolase (PPH). Similar results were observed from transient transformation of CitERF13 in citrus fruit peel. Moreover, this function of CitERF13 was conserved within Arabidopsis and tomato, as the homologs AtERF17 and SlERF16 similarly acted as activators of PPH genes and accelerators of chlorophyll degradation.
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.|The State Agriculture Ministry Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xue-Ren
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiu-Lan
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.|The State Agriculture Ministry Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Jian
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.|The State Agriculture Ministry Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing-Quan
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.|New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Private Bag, 92169, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ian B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.affiliation: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.|US Department of Agriculture/Agriculture Research Service, Robert W. Holley Centre for Agriculture and Health, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Giovannoni
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.|The State Agriculture Ministry Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kun-Song
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D032084:Citrus sinensis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005638:Fruit / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005030:Ethylenes; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C083750:ethylene receptors, plant; D002734:Chlorophyll; C036216:ethylene; C032623:pheophorbide a
keywords: CitERF13; Citrus sinensis; chlorophyll degradation; ethylene response factor; fruit degreening