ARS | Publication request: GENETIC CONTROL OF FRUIT RIPENING

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: April 16, 2004
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The growth and maturation of fruits is a unique aspect of plant development that serves as a significant component of human diets with associated impacts on nutrition and health. Progress has been made in both biochemical and molecular genetic analysis of ripening fruit in recent years leading to enhanced understanding of the molecular underpinnings of fruit develop and ripening control. Several model systems have greatly attributed to the understanding of fruit ripening of both climacteric and non-climacteric fruit and recent efforts have demonstrated molecular connections between these physiologically distinct ripening types. Extrapolation of rapid molecular advances in ethylene and light signaling in Arabidopsis has led to important insights pertaining to how these signaling pathways impact maturing fruit. Advancing molecular genetic, genomic and biotechnology approaches have yielded additional insights into global control of fruit ripening in addition to specific regulatory and biosynthetic pathways that impacting distinct quality characteristics. This chapter sets out to summarize recent developments pertaining to the molecular and genetic characterization of maturation and ripening of fleshy fruit.