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Fruit Development

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Plant Developmental Biology - Biotechnological Perspectives

Abstract

Fruit is a unique and important organ that developed in higher plants during evolution. Fruits protect seeds during development and serve as vehicles for seed dispersal to different habitats for species propagation (Tanksley 2004). Fleshy fruits are important in agricultural sciences because of their nutritional and economic values for humans. Important plant families that produce fleshy fruits include the Solanaceae (e.g. tomato, eggplant, pepper), the Cucurbitaceae (e.g. melon, cucumber, watermelon, pumpkin), the Roseaceae (e.g. apple, pear, strawberry), the Rutaceae (e.g. citrus) and the Vitaceae (e.g. grape).

Fleshy fruit development is essentially divided into four stages (Gillaspy et al. 1993), as depicted in Fig. 15.1. The first stage is floral development, which is the period from floral initiation to anthesis, when the identity, number and shape of floral organs are determined. The second stage is cell division, which commences with fertilization. Cell enlargement constitutes the third stage, when multiple rounds of endoreduplication and rapid cell expansion occur until the onset of ripening. Ripening is the fourth stage, which begins after fruit growth has ceased and involves rapid biochemical and structural changes that determine fruit aroma, texture, nutritional components (e.g. sugars, organic acids, amino acids) and colour.

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  1. , Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tuskuba, 305-8572, Japan

    H. Ezura & K. Hiwasa-Tanase

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  1. H. Ezura
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  2. K. Hiwasa-Tanase
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  1. New Era College, Jalan Bukit, Kajang, 43000, Malaysia

    Eng Chong Pua

  2. Dept. Plant Sciences Division, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, United Kingdom

    Michael R. Davey

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Ezura, H., Hiwasa-Tanase, K. (2010). Fruit Development. In: Pua, E., Davey, M. (eds) Plant Developmental Biology - Biotechnological Perspectives. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02301-9_15

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