title: The Epigenome and Transcriptional Dynamics of Fruit Ripening.
abstract: Fruit has evolved myriad forms that facilitate seed dispersal in varied environmental and ecological contexts. Because fleshy fruits become attractive and nutritious to seed-dispersing animals, the transition from unripe to ripe fruit represents a dramatic shift in survival strategy-from protecting unripe fruit against damaging animals to making it appealing to those same animals once ripened. For optimal fitness, ripening therefore must be tightly controlled and coordinated with seed development. Fruits, like many vegetative tissues of plants that contribute to human diets, are also subject to decay, which is enhanced as a consequence of the ripening transition. As such, ripening control has enormous relevance for both plant biology and food security. Here, we review the complex interactions of hormones and transcription factors during fleshy-fruit ripening, with an emphasis on the recent discovery that epigenome dynamics are a critical and early regulator of the cascade of molecular events that ultimately contribute to fruit maturation and ripening.
authors.affiliation: Robert W. Holley Center, US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Ithaca, New York 14853; email: jjg33@cornell.edu.|Boyce Thompson Institute, Ithaca, New York 14853; email: zf25@cornell.edu.|School of Integrated Plant Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853; email: cvn6@ufl.edu , bba22@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Giovannoni
authors.affiliation: School of Integrated Plant Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853; email: cvn6@ufl.edu , bba22@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Cuong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: School of Integrated Plant Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853; email: cvn6@ufl.edu , bba22@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Betsy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ampofo
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; email: silin.zhong@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Silin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Boyce Thompson Institute, Ithaca, New York 14853; email: zf25@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Zhangjun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005638:Fruit / Q000254:growth & development*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000254:growth & development; D008954:Models, Biological; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012639:Seeds / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: DNA methylation; epigenome; fruit ripening; tomato; transcription factor