title: Silencing of SlPL, which encodes a pectate lyase in tomato, confers enhanced fruit firmness, prolonged shelf-life and reduced susceptibility to grey mould.
abstract: Pectate lyase genes have been documented as excellent candidates for improvement of fruit firmness. However, implementation of pectate lyase in regulating fruit postharvest deterioration has not been fully explored. In this report, 22 individual pectate lyase genes in tomato were identified, and one pectate lyase gene SlPL (Solyc03g111690) showed dominant expression during fruit maturation. RNA interference of SlPL resulted in enhanced fruit firmness and changes in pericarp cells. More importantly, the SlPL-RNAi fruit demonstrated greater antirotting and pathogen-resisting ability. Compared to wild-type, SlPL-RNAi fruit had higher levels of cellulose and hemicellulose, whereas the level of water-soluble pectin was lower. Consistent with this, the activities of peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase were higher in SlPL-RNAi fruit, and the malondialdehyde concentration was lower. RNA-Seq results showed large amounts of differentially expressed genes involved in hormone signalling, cell wall modification, oxidative stress and pathogen resistance. Collectively, these data demonstrate that pectate lyase plays an important role in both fruit softening and pathogen resistance. This may advance knowledge of postharvest fruit preservation in tomato and other fleshy fruit.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Fangjie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xian
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Deding
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Maozhi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Zhengguo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D020171:Botrytis / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D061353:Food Storage; D005638:Fruit / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011133:Polysaccharide-Lyases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D011134:Polysaccharides; C007916:hemicellulose; D002482:Cellulose; D011133:Polysaccharide-Lyases; C023911:pectate lyase
keywords: 
  SlPL
  ; RNA interference; fruit shelf-life; pathogen resistance; pectate lyase; tomato