Transcription Factor RIPENING INHIBITOR and Its Homologs in Regulation of Fleshy Fruit Ripening of Various Plant Species

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) ripening inhibitor (rin) mutation completely represses fruit ripening, as rin fruits fail to express ripening-associated genes and remain green and firm. Moreover, heterozygous rin fruits (rin/+) ripen normally but have extended shelf life, an important consideration for this perishable fruit crop; therefore, heterozygous rin has been widely used to breed varieties that produce red tomatoes with improved shelf life. We previously used CRISPR/Cas9 to produce novel alleles at the rin locus. The wild-type allele RIN encodes a MADS-box transcription factor and the novel allele, named as rinG2, generates an early stop codon, resulting in C-terminal truncation of the transcription factor. Like rin fruits, rinG2 fruits exhibit extended shelf life, but unlike rin fruits, which remain yellow-green even after long-term storage, rinG2 fruits turn orange due to ripening-associated carotenoid production. Here, to explore the potential of the rinG2 mutation for breeding, we characterized the effects of rinG2 in the heterozygous state (rinG2/+) compared to the effects of rin/+. The softening of rinG2/+ fruits was delayed compared to the wild type but to a lesser degree than rin/+ fruits. Lycopene and β-carotene levels in rinG2/+ fruits were similar to those of the wild type, whereas rin/+ fruits accumulated half the amount of β-carotene compared to the wild type. The rinG2/+ fruits produced lower levels of ethylene than wild-type and rin/+ fruits. Expression analysis revealed that in rinG2/+ fruits, the rinG2 mutation (like rin) partially inhibited the expression of ripening-associated genes. The small differences in the inhibitory effects of rinG2 vs. rin coincided with small differences in phenotypes, such as ethylene production, softening, and carotenoid accumulation. Therefore, rinG2 represents a promising genetic resource for developing tomato cultivars with extended shelf life.

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Fruit Ripening Regulation of α-Mannosidase Expression by the MADS Box Transcription Factor RIPENING INHIBITOR and Ethylene

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2016.00010 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Mohammad Irfan ◽

Sumit Ghosh ◽

Vijaykumar S. Meli ◽

Anil Kumar ◽

Vinay Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factor ◽

Fruit Ripening ◽

Mads Box ◽

Ripening Inhibitor

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of A MADS-box gene necessary for fruit ripening at the tomato ripening-inhibitor (rin) locus.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1005600.66222 ◽

2002 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel Gallie

Keyword(s):

Fruit Ripening ◽

Mads Box ◽

Ripening Inhibitor ◽

Mads Box Gene

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Abscisic Acid Regulates Fleshy Fruit Ripening and Stress Resistance

Annual Plant Reviews online ◽

10.1002/9781119312994.apr0744 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 305-336

Author(s):

Bing Yuan ◽

Qian Li ◽

Ping Leng

Keyword(s):

Abscisic Acid ◽

Stress Resistance ◽

Fruit Ripening ◽

Fleshy Fruit

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Seasonal food habits of the four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis de Blainville, 1816) in tropical deciduous forests of Aravalli mountain range, Rajasthan, Western India

The Journal of Basic and Applied Zoology ◽

10.1186/s41936-020-00193-9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 81 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ramchandra Meghwal ◽

Chhaya Bhatnagar ◽

Vijay Kumar Koli

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Fleshy Fruit ◽

Feeding Strategies ◽

Western India ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Local Pressure ◽

Dendrocalamus Strictus ◽

Helicteres Isora

Abstract Background Feeding strategies assessment of endangered species during food limited seasons is important in order to understand their niche and advise effective habitat management steps. We assessed the four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis) seasonal diet from April 2014 to March 2015, in three wildlife sanctuaries in western India, namely, Sitamata, Kumbhalgarh, and Phulwari-ki-nal Wildlife Sanctuaries. Opportunistic focal animal sampling method was used in five 1 km paths in each sanctuary to take feeding observations. Each transect was walked three times a day (morning 06:00-10:00 h; mid-day 10:00-14:00 h; evening 15:00-18:00 h), 1 day a month, during 12 months, with a total of 540 surveys divided between 15 paths. The diet data was categorized into different plant categories. Results A total of 532 feeding records from 85 animal sightings were noted with a mean (± SD) of 14.78 ± 10.04 feeding records/month. Feeding was observed on 63 plant species belonging to 23 families. The highest feeding records noted were on trees (60.91%) in the diet followed by shrubs (20.49%), grasses (16.92%), forbs (1.50%), and climbers (0.18%) respectively. Most of the plant species consumed were from Fabaceae (n = 17) and Poaceae (n = 12) families. The overall browse-grass ratio was 83.08-16.92% (88.02-11.98% for Sitamata WLS; 82.11-17.89% for Kumbhalgarh WLS; 79.10-20.90% for Phulwari-ki-nal WLS). Leaves were the most consumed part of the plants (64.10%), followed by dry fruit (16.55%), fleshy fruit (13.34%), flowers (2.82%), buds (2.06%), and twigs (1.13%) respectively. Use of fleshy fruits, dry fruits, and trees showed significant seasonal dietary difference (P < 0.05) in all three sanctuaries. Conclusions Tetracerus quadricornis was found to consume more browse species than grasses. We recommend conservation and promotion of natural plant regeneration, in particular for the plant species that were the most consumed by four-horned antelope, namely, Aristida adscensionis, Dendrocalamus strictus, Dichrostachys cinerea, Acacia leucophloea, Butea monosperma, Helicteres isora, Ziziphus nummularia, and Ziziphus xylopyrus. Conservation of grassland patches, minimizing local pressure, and planning, construction, and maintenance of fire lines prior to timing of forest fires would help to protected T. quadricornis habitat in all three sanctuaries.

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