1. A Chimeric TGA Repressor Slows Down Fruit Maturation and Ripening in Tomato
- Author
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Carine Ferrand, Christophe Rothan, Martine Lemaire-Chamley, Takayuki Tohge, Joana Jorly, Hiroshi Ezura, Erika Asamizu, Marilise Nogueira, Lázaro Eustáquio Pereira Peres, Paul D Fraser, Takuya Yoshida, Claude Koutouan, Alisdair R. Fernie, Julien Assali, Mohammad-Reza Hajirezaei, Biologie du fruit et pathologie (BFP), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Université Bordeaux Segalen - Bordeaux 2-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1, The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (MPI-MP), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Royal Holloway [University of London] (RHUL), University of São Paulo (USP), Université de Tsukuba = University of Tsukuba, Ryukoku University, and Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research [Gatersleben] (IPK-Gatersleben)
- Subjects
Crops, Agricultural ,0106 biological sciences ,Genotype ,Physiology ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Repressor ,Plant Science ,tomato ,Biology ,Genes, Plant ,01 natural sciences ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chloroplast ,ripening competency ,Solanum lycopersicum ,Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ,bZIP ,[SDV.BV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology ,Transcription factor ,Phylogeny ,030304 developmental biology ,2. Zero hunger ,0303 health sciences ,TOMATE ,hormone regulation ,Genetic Variation ,food and beverages ,Ripening ,Cell Biology ,General Medicine ,Metabolism ,biology.organism_classification ,Cell biology ,Chloroplast ,Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors ,chemistry ,Fruit ,développement du fruit ,Mutation ,Plant hormone ,Salicylic acid ,Systemic acquired resistance ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
The bZIP transcription factor (TF) SlTGA2.2 was previously highlighted as a possible hub in a network regulating fruit growth and transition to ripening (maturation phase). It belongs to a clade of TFs well known for their involvement in the regulation of the salicylic acid–dependent systemic acquired resistance. To investigate if this TGA TF plays a role in tomato fruit growth and maturation, we took advantage of the fruit-specific SlPPC2 promoter (PPC2pro) to target the expression of a SlTGA2.2-SRDX chimeric repressor in a developmental window restricted to early fruit growth and maturation. Here, we show that this SlTGA2.2-SRDX repressor alters early fruit development and metabolism, including chloroplast number and structure, considerably extends the time necessary to reach the mature green stage and slows down fruit ripening. RNA sequencing and plant hormone analyses reveal that PPC2pro:SlTGA2.2-SRDX fruits are maintained in an immature stage as long as PPC2pro is active, through early modifications of plant hormonal signaling and down-regulation of MADS-RIN and NAC-NOR ripening regulators. Once PPC2pro becomes inactive and therefore SlTGA2.2-SRDX expression is reduced, ripening can proceed, albeit at a slower pace than normal. Altogether, this work emphasizes the developmental continuum between fruit growth, maturation and ripening and provides a useful tool to alter and study the molecular bases of tomato fruit transition to ripening.
- Published
- 2021
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