Abstract
The NAC transcription factor (TF) family is one of the largest plant-specific TF families and its members are involved in the regulation of many vital biological processes during plant growth and development. Recent studies have found that NAC TFs play important roles during the ripening of fleshy fruits and the development of quality attributes. This review focuses on the advances in our understanding of the function of NAC TFs in different fruits and their involvement in the biosynthesis and signal transduction of plant hormones, fruit textural changes, color transformation, accumulation of flavor compounds, seed development and fruit senescence. We discuss the theoretical basis and potential regulatory models for NAC TFs action and provide a comprehensive view of their multiple roles in modulating different aspects of fruit ripening and quality.
Highlights
Fruits originate from the reproductive organ of plants, carry, nourish and protect the developing seeds and generally act as an aid to seed dispersal and propagation of the species
We review the NAC transcription factor (TF) that are involved in regulating fruit ripening and quality, focusing on their molecular regulatory mechanisms, and discuss a model outlining the roles that NAC TFs play in regulating fruit ripening and the determination of fruit quality
NAC TFs regulate fruit ripening mainly by directly activating or inhibiting key genes in the ethylene and abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis and signal transduction pathways or interacting with proteins related to the above pathways
Summary
Fruits originate from the reproductive organ of plants, carry, nourish and protect the developing seeds and generally act as an aid to seed dispersal and propagation of the species. NAC TFs can be involved in many biological processes regulating plant growth and development, including response to external stress [20], flower organ formation [21], establishment of organ boundaries and plant morphology [22,23], secondary cell wall thickening [24], shoot and root apical meristem formation [16,17], lateral root development [25,26], fiber development [27], senescence regulation [28] and fruit development [15]. Increasing numbers of studies have shown that NAC TFs play an important regulatory role in fruit ripening [15,29,30]. We review the NAC TFs that are involved in regulating fruit ripening and quality, focusing on their molecular regulatory mechanisms, and discuss a model outlining the roles that NAC TFs play in regulating fruit ripening and the determination of fruit quality
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