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Comparative dynamics of ethylene production and expression of the ACS and ACO genes in normal-ripening and non-ripening watermelon fruits

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Abstract

Watermelon fruit is traditionally classified as non-climacteric, but it has been reported to be hypersensitive to exogenous ethylene: resulting in accelerated softening and water-soaking. The previous studies have reported a modest, but significant increase in ethylene production in strawberry, grape, etc., which has stimulated interest in exploring the possible role of this hormone in ripening of non-climacteric fruits. In this study, both ethylene emission and content of internal ethylene (CIE) in watermelon fruit were determined, with tomato fruit used as the reference. Throughout the development and ripening, the average CIE levels in flesh was higher than the nearly undetectable ethylene emission from fruits, and revealed a distinct rise of ethylene production in flesh in normal-ripening line 97103, but not in non-ripening line PI296341-FR. In parallel with the patterns of CIE, the activity of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (ACS) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO) both increased in 97103 flesh as ripening progressed, but stayed at a constant and low level in PI296341-FR flesh. Eight ACS and eight ACO isoforms were identified in watermelon genome by full-length alignment and domain analysis of protein sequences, and among which, four ACS and four ACO genes were selected based on transcriptome profiling of the fruit development for further assay using qPCR. The expression of two ACS isoforms, Cla022653 and Cla011522, as well as two ACO isoforms, Cla014827 and Cla016287, were significantly up-regulated in 97103 flesh during ripening compared with PI296341-FR, indicating that these four genes could potentially play a more important role in ethylene biosynthesis in normal-ripening watermelon flesh.

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Abbreviations

1-MCP:

1-Methylcyclopropene

ACC:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid

ACO:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase

ACS:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase

CIE:

Content of internal ethylene

DAP:

Days after pollination

FID:

Flame ionization detector

qPCR:

Quantitative real-time PCR

SAM:

S-Adenosyl-l-methionine

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (31361140355, 31401893, 3172184, 2013BAD01B04, and 2014BAD01B09), the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China (CARS-26), the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission of China (6141001, Z141100002314019), the Beijing Scholar Program and Beijing Excellent Talents Program (2014000021223TD03, 2014000020060G176).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Ming Zhou

  2. National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (North China), Beijing, 100097, China

    Ming Zhou, Shaogui Guo, Jie Zhang, Haiying Zhang, Changbao Li, Xiaowei Tang, Yi Ren, Guoyi Gong & Yong Xu

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Correspondence to Yong Xu.

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Communicated by P. K. Nagar.

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Zhou, M., Guo, S., Zhang, J. et al. Comparative dynamics of ethylene production and expression of the ACS and ACO genes in normal-ripening and non-ripening watermelon fruits. Acta Physiol Plant 38, 228 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-016-2248-x

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