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. 1989 Aug;90(4):1372–1377. doi: 10.1104/pp.90.4.1372

Transcriptional Analysis of Polygalacturonase and Other Ripening Associated Genes in Rutgers, rin, nor, and Nr Tomato Fruit 1

Dean DellaPenna 1,2, James E Lincoln 1,2, Robert L Fischer 1,2, Alan B Bennett 1,2
PMCID: PMC1061898  PMID: 16666938

Abstract

We have studied the transcription of polygalacturonase (PG) and several other riponing-associated genes in wild-type tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) fruit and three ripening-impaired mutants, rin, nor, and Nr. In wild-type fruit, the PG gene becomes transcriptionally active early in ripening and remains transcriptionally active during the ripening process. Fruit of the three ripening-impaired mutants, which have reduced levels of PG mRNA, have correspondingly reduced PG transcription rates. Other ripening-associated genes showed diverse patterns of expression in the ripening-impaired mutant backgrounds. These results indicate that transcriptional activation of the PG gene is an important control point regulating the expression of PG during ripening in wild-type fruit and that PG expression in rin, nor, and Nr fruit is blocked at the level of transcription. A comparison of PG transcription rates and mRNA levels with those of other ripening-associated genes suggests that posttranscriptional processes may also contribute to the large accumulation of PG mRNA during ripening.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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