Figure 4.

Expression Analysis of NSGT Genes and Metabolite Levels in Ripening Fruits of Six ‘Non-Smoky’ and Six ‘Smoky’ Tomato Cultivars.

Relative expression of NSGT genes in ‘non-smoky’ and ‘smoky’ fruits (A). The metabolic levels exemplified by guaiacol diglycoside (Gua DG) and guaiacol triglycoside (Gua TG) (B), and guaiacol release from disrupted fruits (C). MeSA, eugenol, and their corresponding glycoconjugated moieties behave in a similar way to guaiacol/guaiacol glycosides (Tikunov et al., 2010). Fruit ripening stages are as follows: MG, mature green fruit; B, breaker fruit; T, turning fruit; and R, ripe fruit. Each data point represents the average gene expression or the average metabolite abundance in six tomato fruit samples. The maximum average expression is set at 100%. The error bars represent standard deviations of gene expression or metabolite abundance levels (%) measured in six tomato fruit samples. Graphs on the left, ‘non-smoky’ cultivars; graphs on the right, ‘smoky’ cultivars.