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A proposed conserved role for an avocado fw2.2-like gene as a negative regulator of fruit cell division

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Abstract

Previous studies using ‘Hass’ avocado and its small fruit (SF) phenotype as a model showed that SF is limited by cell number, not by cell size. In an attempt to explore the molecular mechanisms regulating avocado fruit cell division, we isolated four distinct avocado cell proliferation-related genes and investigated their expression characteristics, comparing normal fruit (NF) and SF developmental patterns. Three cDNAs termed PaCYCA1, PaCYCB1 and PaPCNA, encoding two mitotic cyclins and a proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), were first isolated from young NF tissues. The accumulation of their transcripts was predominant in mitotically active organs, including young fruitlets, leaves and roots. Furthermore, a fourth full-length cDNA, designated Pafw2.2-like, encoding a FW2.2 (fruit-weight)-like protein, was isolated from SF tissues. FW2.2 is postulated to function as a negative regulator of cell division in tomato fruit. Remarkably, northern analysis revealed that the accumulation of the mitotic cyclins and of PCNA transcripts gradually decreased in NF tissues during growth, whereas in SF, their levels had already decreased at earlier stages of fruit development, concomitant with an earlier arrest of fruit cell division activity. In contrast, parallel sq-RT-PCR analysis showed that Pafw2.2-like mRNA accumulation was considerably higher in SF tissues than in the same NF tissues essentially at all examined stages of fruit growth. Together, our data suggest essential roles for the two mitotic cyclins genes and the PCNA gene in regulating avocado fruit development. Furthermore, the possibility that Pafw2.2-like acts as does fw2.2 in tomato, is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Gad Ish-Am and Dr. Leo Winner for kindly helping us determine the full bloom period, based on honeybee visits to the trees, the technical assistance of Mr. Moshe Goren as well as Kibbutz Shiller for providing us access to their ‘Hass’ avocado orchard, enabling us to collect avocado fruits. This work was supported by grant No. 203-0708 from the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Agriculture, Israel.

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  1. Institute of Plant Sciences, The Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, 50250, Bet-Dagan, Israel

    Yardena Dahan, Revital Rosenfeld, Victor Zadiranov & Vered Irihimovitch

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  1. Yardena Dahan
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  2. Revital Rosenfeld
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  3. Victor Zadiranov
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  4. Vered Irihimovitch
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Correspondence to Vered Irihimovitch.

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Dahan, Y., Rosenfeld, R., Zadiranov, V. et al. A proposed conserved role for an avocado fw2.2-like gene as a negative regulator of fruit cell division. Planta 232, 663–676 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-010-1200-3

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