Abstract
The involvement of the phytohormone ethylene as the main trigger of climacteric fruit ripening is well documented. However, our knowledge regarding the role of ethylene response factor (ERF) transcription factor in the transcriptional regulation of ethylene biosynthesis during fruit ripening remains limited. Here, comprehensive transcriptome analysis and expression profiling revealed 63 ERFs in durian pulps, termed DzERF1-DzERF63, of which 34 exhibited ripening-associated expression patterns at three stages (unripe, midripe, and ripe) during fruit ripening. Hierarchical clustering analysis classified 34 ripening-associated DzERFs into three distinct clades, among which, clade I consisted of downregulated DzERFs and clade III included those upregulated during ripening. Phylogenetic analysis predicted the functions of some DzERFs based on orthologs of previously characterized ERFs. Among downregulated DzERFs, DzERF6 functional prediction revealed its role as a negative regulator of ripening via ethylene biosynthetic gene repression, whereas among upregulated genes, DzERF9 was predicted to positively regulate ethylene biosynthesis. Correlation network analysis of 34 ripening-associated DzERFs with potential target genes revealed a strong negative correlation between DzERF6 and ethylene biosynthetic genes and a strong positive correlation between DzERF9 and ethylene biosynthesis. DzERF6 and DzERF9 showed differential expression patterns in association with different ripening treatments (natural, ethylene-induced, and 1-methylcyclopropene-delayed ripening). DzERF6 was downregulated, whereas DzERF9 was upregulated, during ripening and after ethylene treatment. The auxin-repressed and auxin-induced expression of DzERF6 and DzERF9, respectively, confirmed its dose-dependent responsiveness to exogenous auxin. We suggest ethylene- and auxin-mediated roles of DzERF6 and DzERF9 during fruit ripening, possibly through transcriptional regulation of ethylene biosynthetic genes.
Highlights
Fruit ripening is a complex developmental and genetically programmed process that leads to marked changes in the texture, flavor, color, and nutritional value of the flesh
We identified a member of the auxin response factor (ARF) transcription factors (TFs) family, DzARF2A, which mediates durian fruit ripening through the transcriptional regulation of ethylene biosynthetic genes [33]
The Ethylene response factors (ERFs) TFs comprise one of the largest TF families, which is a part of the APETALA2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily
Summary
Fruit ripening is a complex developmental and genetically programmed process that leads to marked changes in the texture, flavor, color, and nutritional value of the flesh. These changes occur as a result of the coordinated activation of numerous biochemical and genetic pathways regulated by transcriptional and hormonal regulatory networks [1]. The gaseous phytohormone ethylene plays a key regulatory role in climacteric fruit ripening but is involved in various developmental and physiological processes, including programmed cell death, flowering, seed germination, and responses to both biotic and abiotic stressors [3, 4]. Members of the RAV family have an AP2/ERF and a B3 domain, whereas AP2 family TFs usually contain multiple repeated AP2/ERF domains. Soloist family members show low similarity to other members [6, 8]
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