Molecular Analysis of Fruit Size Regulation in Apple
Fruit size is a commercially valuable trait. Although several factors are known to affect fruit size in apple, insights into the molecular aspects of its regulation are lacking. Our research aims to understand fruit size regulation using a combination of approaches. Analysis of a large fruited mutant of `Gala', `Grand Gala' (GG), showed that it was 40% heavier than `Gala' at harvest. Increase in size of GG fruit was caused by an increase in the cell size apparent at full bloom. Flow cytometry revealed the presence of multiple levels of ploidy (up to 16C) in GG during early fruit development. Increase in ploidy of GG is hypothesized to be due to endoreduplication, a process normally absent in apple. Endoreduplication is a modification of the cell cycle where DNA replication is not followed by cell division, resulting in increased DNA content accompanied by increased cell size. To understand if the cell cycle is altered in GG, four key cell cycle regulators, MdCDKA1, MdCDKB1, MdCYCB2 and MdCYCD3 have been partially cloned from apple using RT-PCR and RACE. As cell number at the end of the cell division phase is correlated with fruit size at harvest, expression analysis of these genes can provide valuable insights into their role in the regulation of cell number and fruit size. Analysis of cell cycle gene expression in GG may provide key insights into the altered molecular regulation that leads to endoreduplication in the mutant. Parallel approaches being employed to study whether environmental and cultural factors regulate fruit size through an influence on the cell cycle will also be discussed.