Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (33)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by White, P. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by White, P. J.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by White, P. J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 53, No. 377, pp. 1995-2000, October 1, 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press

Recent advances in fruit development and ripening: an overview

Received 26 July 2002; Accepted 26 July 2002

Philip J. White1

Department of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Horticulture Research International, Wellesbourne, Warwick CV35 9EF, UK

1 Fax: +44 (0)1789 470552. E-mail: philip-j.white{at}hri.ac.uk

This article provides an overview of the Journal of Experimental Botany Special Issue on Fruit Development and Ripening. It reports that significant progress is being made in identifying genes controlling the development of dry dehiscent fruits in the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. In plants with fleshy fruits, a major focus has been the dissection of biochemical and genetic regulatory cascades controlling ripening, using tomato as a model species. Intermediates of the ethylene-signalling cascade, potential cross-talk between ethylene and auxin signals, and the role of ethylene-independent signals have all been described in this climacteric fruit. The recent isolation of the NOR and LeMADS-RIN genes, which participate in ethylene-independent signalling in tomato, and the discovery that a homologue of the RIN gene is expressed in strawberry, a non-climacteric fruit, suggests that common regulatory cascades may operate in all fruits. Transcriptional profiling during the development and ripening of both climacteric (tomato) and non-climacteric (strawberry) fruit has supported these observations, and also identified a number of novel genes involved in the biochemistry of fruit development and ripening. The use of phylogenies based on chloroplast gene sequences has allowed an insight into the evolution of fruit forms and fruit biochemistry, which may be useful for the manipulation of commercial species. Several molecular approaches, including positional cloning, QTL mapping and genetic engineering, are helping to define the biochemical and molecular bases of texture, flavour, colour, and aroma. As the understanding of the biology of fruit ripening has improved, so has the ability to improve the organoleptic and nutritional qualities of fruits through crop management, breeding or biotechnology.

Key words: Key words: Arabidopsis thaliana, auxin, dehiscence, ethylene, Fragaria ananassa, ripening, Solanum lycopersicon, strawberry, tomato, transcription.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Food Science and Technology InternationalHome page
N. Garcia-Marino, F. de la Torre, and A.J. Matilla
Organic Acids and Soluble Sugars in Edible and Nonedible Parts of Damson Plum (Prunus domestica L. subsp. insititia cv. Syriaca) Fruits During Development and Ripening
Food Science and Technology International, April 1, 2008; 14(2): 187 - 193.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.