Abstract
An intrinsic and genetically determined ripening program of tomato fruits often depends upon the appropriate activation of tissue- and stage-specific transcription factors in space and time. The past two decades have yielded considerable progress in detailing these complex transcriptional as well as hormonal regulatory circuits paramount to fleshy fruit ripening. This non-linear ripening process is strongly controlled by the MADS-box and NOR family of proteins, triggering a transcriptional response associated with the progression of fruit ripening. Deepening insights into the connection between MADS-RIN and plant hormones related transcription factors, such as ERFs and ARFs, further conjugates the idea that several signaling units work in parallel to define an output fruit ripening transcriptome. Besides these TFs, the role of other families of transcription factors such as MYB, GLK, WRKY, GRAS and bHLH have also emerged as important ripening regulators. Other regulators such as EIN and EIL proteins also determine the transcriptional landscape of ripening fruits. Despite the abundant knowledge of the complex spectrum of ripening networks in the scientific domain, identifying more ripening effectors would pave the way for a better understanding of fleshy fruit ripening at the molecular level. This review provides an update on the transcriptional regulators of tomato fruit ripening.
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Acknowledgements
This work is financially supported by grants received from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. AKS acknowledges DBT grant BT/PR6983/PBD/16/1007/2012. The authors acknowledge the Department of Science and Technology, India, for the Purse Grant. The SAP Grant of the University Grants Commission and FIST grant of DST, India, to the Department of Plant and Molecular Biology for infrastructure support are also acknowledged.
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Gambhir, P., Raghuvanshi, U., Kumar, R. et al. Transcriptional regulation of tomato fruit ripening. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 30, 289–303 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-024-01424-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-024-01424-x