Abstract Detail
Mechanisms of Gene Regulation Martel, Catherine [1], Giovannoni, James J. [2]. RIN and NOR Function in Acquisition of Fruit Ripening Competency. Ripening is a process by which physiological and biochemical changes render fleshy fruit attractive for consumption by seed-dispersing animals. Studies in tomato and many other important fruit species implicate ethylene as a key regulator of the ripening process in climacteric fruit. However, the existence of specific tomato mutants, such as rin and nor, that fail to ripen in the presence of exogenous ethylene while retaining ethylene sensitivity, illustrates the existence of another level of control responsible for the acquisition of a state referred to as “ripening competency”. Ripening competency can be defined as the state at which a mature climacteric fruit is capable of ripening in response to endogenous or exogenous ethylene. The recent cloning and identification of the RIN and NOR genes revealed that they both encode transcription factors suggesting they might function as master regulators of a ripening cascade influencing ripening competency. Elucidation of the mechanisms through which these genes participate in ripening effects will provide essential information to understand both specific fruit biology and general plant developmental regulation. Several molecular approaches have been undertaken in order to gain insight into the function and mechanism of action of these transcription factors. Antibodies specific for both the RIN and NOR proteins were develop and used to examine the dynamics of RIN and NOR protein accumulation during ripening. An inducible transgenic system is being constructed to identify downstream targets of these regulators and microarray analysis of normal and mutant fruits was also initiated with the goal of identifying early targets of RIN and NOR during tomato ripening.
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1 - Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research - Cornell University, Plant Biology, Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
2 - Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research - Cornell University, Plant Biology
Keywords:
Fruit
gene regulation
tomato
ripening
transcription factor
microarray.
Presentation Type: Plant Biology Abstract
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P36030
Abstract ID:1364 | 