Research Project: Genetic Regulation of Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Quality and Maturation and Technology Development

Location: Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research

Publications (Clicking on the reprint icon will take you to the publication reprint.)

Crop improvement for enhanced folate - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Kyei-Badu, B.B., Giovannoni, J.J. 2025. Crop improvement for enhanced folate. Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology. 100(5):615-627. https://doi.org/10.1080/14620316.2025.2534574.

ORANGE family proteins: multifunctional chaperones shaping plant carotenoid level, plastid development, stress tolerance, and more - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Wrightstone, E., Xu, L., Rao, S., Hazra, A., Li, L. 2025. ORANGE family proteins: multifunctional chaperones shaping plant carotenoid level, plastid development, stress tolerance, and more. Molecular Horticulture 5:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43897-025-00169-9.

GLKs directly regulate carotenoid biosynthesis via interacting with GBFs in plants - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Sun, T., Hazra, A., Lui, A., Zeng, S., Wan, X., Rao, S., Owens, L., Fei, Z., Zhao, Y., Mazourek, M., Giovannoni, J.J., Li, L. 2025. GLKs directly regulate carotenoid biosynthesis via interacting with GBFs in plants. New Phytologist. 246(2):645-665. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20457.

Ethylene response factor SlERF. D6 promotes ripening in part through transcription factors SlDEAR2 and SlTCP12 - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Chen, Y., Wang, X., Colantonio, V.N., Gao, Z., Pei, Y., Fish, T., Yi, J., Courtney, L., Thannhauser, T.W., Ye, Z., Liu, Y., Fei, Z., Liu, M., Giovannoni, J.J. 2025. Ethylene response factor SlERF. D6 promotes ripening in part through transcription factors SlDEAR2 and SlTCP12. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). 12(7). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2405894122.

A stable combination of non-stable genes outperforms standard reference genes for RT-qPCR data normalization - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Djari, A., Madignier, G., Chevrin, C., Van Der Rest, B., Giovannoni, J.J., Bouzayen, M., Pirello, J., Maza, E. 2024. A stable combination of non-stable genes outperforms standard reference genes for RT-qPCR data normalization. Scientific Reports. 14. Article 31278. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-82651-w.

ß-carotene and its derivatives regulate pollen fertility in tomato - (Peer Reviewed Journal)

Fruit ripening and post-harvest changes in very early ripening fruit. - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Chen, Y., Tabg, X., Fei, Z., Giovannoni, J.J. 2024. Fruit ripening and post-harvest changes in very early ripening fruit.. Horticulture Research. Volume 11, Issue 9. https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae199.

Real-time library search (RTLS) triggered MS3 facilitates in-depth cannabinoid profile in different hemp genotypes and identification of novel cannabinoids - (Abstract Only)

Homeologue differential expression in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway underlies flower colour variation in natural and synthetic polyploids of Nicotiana tobacum (Solanaceae) - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Mccarthy, E., Landis, J., Mccoy, A., Lawhorn, A., Kurti, A., Xu, Y., Giovannoni, J.J., Litt, A. 2024. Homeologue differential expression in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway underlies flower colour variation in natural and synthetic polyploids of Nicotiana tobacum (Solanaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 2024 (4), 283-303. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boad052.

Expansin SlExp1 and endoclucanase SlCel2 synergistically promote fruit softening and cell wall disassembly in tomato - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Su, G., Lin, Y., Wang, C., Lu, J., Liu, Z., He, Z., Xiu, S., Chen, W., Wu, R., Li, B., Zhu, C., Rose, J., Grierson, D., Giovannoni, J.J., Shi, Y., Chen, K. 2024. Expansin SlExp1 and endoclucanase SlCel2 synergistically promote fruit softening and cell wall disassembly in tomato. The Plant Cell. 36 (3) 709-726. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad291.

The selenium-promoted daidzein production contributes to its induced nodulation in soybean plants - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Silva, V., Lui, A., Carvalho, M., Namorato, F., Fei, Z., Reis, A., Liu, J., Vatamaniuk, O., Li, L. 2023. The selenium-promoted daidzein production contributes to its induced nodulation in soybean plants. Environmental and Experimental Botany. Vol. 218, 105591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2023.105591.

Co-chaperoning of chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis by orange family proteins in plant - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Sun, T., Wang, P., Lu, S., Yuan, H., Yang, Y., Fish, T., Thannhauser, T.W., Liu, J., Mazourek, M., Grimm, B., Li, L. 2023. Co-chaperoning of chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis by orange family proteins in plant. Molecular Plant. 16:1048-1065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molp.2023.05.006.

Deregulation of ¿-carotene desaturase in Arabidopsis and tomato exposes a unique carotenoid-derived redundant regulation of floral meristem identity and function - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Mcquinn, R., Leroux, J., Sierra, J., Escobar-Tovar, L., Frusciante, S., Finnegan, E., Diretti, G., Giuliano, G., Giovannoni, J.J., Leon, P., Pogson, B. 2023. Deregulation of ¿-carotene desaturase in Arabidopsis and tomato exposes a unique carotenoid-derived redundant regulation of floral meristem identity and function. The Plant Journal. 114(4):783-804. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.16168.

Abscisic acid mediated strawberry receptacle ripening involves the interplay of multiple phytohormone signaling networks - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Li, B., Shi, Y., Jai, H., Yang, X., Lu, J., Giovannoni, J.J., Jiang, G., Rose, J., Chen, K. 2023. Abscisic acid mediated strawberry receptacle ripening involves the interplay of multiple phytohormone signaling networks. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1117156.

Natural overexpression of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 in tomato alters carotenoid flux - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Yoo, H., Chung, M., Lee, H., Lee, S., Grandillo, S., Giovannoni, J.J., Lee, J. 2023. Natural overexpression of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 in tomato alters carotenoid flux. Plant Physiology. 192(2):1289-1306. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiad049.

The transcription factor VviNAC60 regulates senescence- and ripening-related processes in grapevine - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
D'Inca, E., Foresti, C., Orduna, L., Amato, A., Vandelle, E., Santiago, A., Botton, A., Cazzaniga, S., Bertini, E., Pezzotti, M., Giovannoni, J.J., Vrebalov, J., Matus, J., Tornielli, G., Zenoni, S. 2023. The transcription factor VviNAC60 regulates senescence- and ripening-related processes in grapevine. Plant Physiology. 192(3):1928-1946. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiad050.

Selection pressure on the rhizosphere microbiome can alter nitrogen use efficiency in seed yield in Brassica rapa - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Garcia, J., Gannett, M., Wei, L., Cheng, L., Hu, S., Sparks, J., Giovannoni, J.J., Kao-Kniffin, J. 2022. Selection pressure on the rhizosphere microbiome can alter nitrogen use efficiency in seed yield in Brassica rapa. Communications Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03860-5.

Limited conservation in cross-species comparison of GLK transcription factor binding suggested wide-spread cistrome divergence - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Tu, X., Ren, S., Wei, S., Li, J., Li, Y., Li, C., Li, Y., Zhong, Z., Xie, W., Grierson, D., Fei, Z., Giovannoni, J.J., Li, P., Zhong, S. 2022. Limited conservation in cross-species comparison of GLK transcription factor binding suggested wide-spread cistrome divergence. Nature Communications. 13(1). Article 7632. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35438-4.

A family of methyl esterases converts methyl salicylate to salicylic acid in ripening tomato fruit - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Frick, E., Sapkota, M., Pereira, L., Wang, Y., Hermanns, A., Giovannoni, J.J., Van Der Knaap, E., Tieman, D., Klee, H. 2023. A family of methyl esterases converts methyl salicylate to salicylic acid in ripening tomato fruit. Plant Physiology. 191(1):110-124. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiac509.