(E.M.); 0000-0001-7707-7776 (J.-P.R.); 0000-0002-5725-885X (J.P.).Our knowledge of the factors mediating ethylene-dependent ripening of climacteric fruit remains limited. The transcription of ethylene-regulated genes is mediated by ethylene response factors (ERFs), but mutants providing information on the specific role of the ERFs in fruit ripening are still lacking, likely due to functional redundancy among this large multigene family of transcription factors. We present here a comprehensive expression profiling of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) ERFs in wild-type and tomato ripening-impaired tomato mutants (Never-ripe [Nr], ripening-inhibitor [rin], and non-ripening [nor]), indicating that out of the 77 ERFs present in the tomato genome, 27 show enhanced expression at the onset of ripening while 28 display a ripeningassociated decrease in expression, suggesting that different ERFs may have contrasting roles in fruit ripening. Among the 19 ERFs exhibiting the most consistent up-regulation during ripening, the expression of 11 ERFs is strongly down-regulated in rin, nor, and Nr tomato ripening mutants, while only three are consistently up-regulated. Members of subclass E, SlERF.E1, SlERF.E2, and SlERF.E4, show dramatic down-regulation in the ripening mutants, suggesting that their expression might be instrumental in fruit ripening. This study illustrates the high complexity of the regulatory network connecting RIN and ERFs and identifies subclass E members as the most active ERFs in ethylene-and RIN/NOR-dependent ripening.The plant hormone ethylene is involved in a wide range of developmental processes and physiological responses such as flowering, fruit ripening, organ senescence, abscission, root nodulation, seed germination, programmed cell death, cell expansion, and responses to abiotic stresses and pathogen attacks. In the last decades, tremendous progress has been made toward deciphering the mechanisms by which plants perceive and respond to ethylene (Benavente and Alonso, 2006;Ju et al., 2012). Studies on components of ethylene signaling have revealed a linear transduction pathway that ultimately leads to the activation of transcriptional regulators belonging to the ethylene response factor (ERF) family of transcription factors. While the upstream components of the ethylene transduction pathway are common to all ethylene responses, the apparent simplicity of the hormone signaling pathway cannot account for the wide diversity and specificity of biological responses. ERFs are one of the largest families of plant transcription factors, and in this regard, they represent a suitable step where the diversity and specificity of ethylene responses can be expressed. These downstream components of ethylene signaling are the main mediators of ethylenedependent gene transcription.Considering the importance of fleshy fruits for a healthy diet and the prominent role assigned to ethylene in the control of fruit ripening, substantial advances have been made to uncover the molecular mechanisms that control fruit development...