Abstract
Cantaloupes (Cucumis melo) comprise a large retail market in the US. Postharvest losses, which are largely attributable to the effects of ethylene, have been estimated to be near 30%. Ethylene biosynthesis has been manipulated to prolong ripening and extend the postharvest life of cantaloupe via genetic modification. The T3 bacteriophage gene product S-adenosylmethionine hydrolase (SAMase) catalyzes the degradation of SAM, a precursor to ethylene biosynthesis. Because both SAM and ethylene play a number of important roles in normal plant growth and development, a synthetic promoter has been designed to restrict SAMase expression to the ripening fruit of cantaloupe. The ripening phenotype of cantaloupe transformed with a fruit-specific SAMase expression construct was analyzed in greenhouse and field trials. Results indicate that the genetically modified cantaloupe expressing SAMase exhibit modified postharvest characteristics, including a dramatic reduction in ethylene synthesis.
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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Clendennen, S.K. et al. (1999). Genetic Engineering of Cantaloupe to Reduce Ethylene Biosynthesis and Control Ripening. In: Kanellis, A.K., Chang, C., Klee, H., Bleecker, A.B., Pech, J.C., Grierson, D. (eds) Biology and Biotechnology of the Plant Hormone Ethylene II. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4453-7_68
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4453-7_68
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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