Expression of an ethylene-related expansin gene during softening of mountain papaya fruit (Vasconcellea pubescens)

Gaete-Eastman, C; Figueroa, CR; Balbontin, C; Moya, M.; Atkinson, RG; Herrera R.; Moya-Leon, MA

Abstract

Fruit softening is associated with cell wall modifications produced by a set of hydrolytic enzymes and proteins. Expansins are proteins with no catalytic activity which have been associated with several processes during plant growth and development. A role for expansins has been proposed during fruit softening, and many fruit-specific expansins have been identified in a variety of species. A fruit-specific expansin gene from mountain papaya (Vasconcellea pubescens) was isolated and characterised: VpEXPA2, a 851 bp cDNA encoding a polypeptide of 258 amino acids, which contained all the characteristics of a-expansins. DNA gel blot analysis showed that VpEXPA2 is member of a small multigene family in the mountain papaya's genome. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analyses revealed transcript accumulation during the softening of control fruit, with maximum level after 5 d of storage at 20 °C. A reduction in transcript expression level was observed in fruit treated with an ethylene perception blocker (1-methylcyclopropene), while an earlier and higher transcript level was observed in ethylene-treated fruit, suggesting that VpEXPA2 expression is regulated by this plant hormone. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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Título según WOS: Expression of an ethylene-related expansin gene during softening of mountain papaya fruit (Vasconcellea pubescens)
Título según SCOPUS: Expression of an ethylene-related expansin gene during softening of mountain papaya fruit (Vasconcellea pubescens)
Título de la Revista: POSTHARVEST BIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Volumen: 53
Número: 01-feb
Editorial: Elsevier
Fecha de publicación: 2009
Página de inicio: 58
Página final: 65
Idioma: English
URL: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0925521409000635
DOI:

10.1016/j.postharvbio.2009.03.007

Notas: ISI, SCOPUS