A naturally occurring epigenetic mutation in a gene encoding an SBP-box transcription factor inhibits tomato fruit ripening

Abstract

A major component in the regulatory network controlling fruit ripening is likely to be the gene at the tomato Colorless non-ripening (Cnr) locus. The Cnr mutation results in colorless fruits with a substantial loss of cell-to-cell adhesion. The nature of the mutation and the identity of the Cnr gene were previously unknown. Using positional cloning and virus-induced gene silencing, here we demonstrate that an SBP-box (SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein-like) gene resides at the Cnr locus. Furthermore, the Cnr phenotype results from a spontaneous epigenetic change in the SBP-box promoter. The discovery that Cnr is an epimutation was unexpected, as very few spontaneous epimutations have been described in plants. This study demonstrates that an SBP-box gene is critical for normal ripening and highlights the likely importance of epialleles in plant development and the generation of natural variation.

High-quality de novo assembly of the apple genome and methylome dynamics of early fruit development

“…Several of these were found to be orthologous to genes that are known to be important regulators of flower and fruit development in other species. This suggests that apple fruit development is regulated by epigenetic processes, which is consistent with data obtained in tomato, demonstrating that DNA methylation is important for fruit ripening [56][57][58] .…”

Genome sequence of the hot pepper provides insights into the evolution of pungency in Capsicum species

“…4). In contrast, CNR 50 , Uniform (Golden-like 2) 51 and HB-1 (ref. 52) showed distinct expression patterns in hot pepper and tomato (Fig.…”

Identification of a Consensus DNA-Binding Site for the Arabidopsis thaliana SBP Domain Transcription Factor, AtSPL14, and Binding Kinetics by Surface Plasmon Resonance

“…To date, only a few functions for SBP domain proteins have been reported, perhaps due to genetic redundancy of closely related family members. In all cases, SBP domain proteins have been implicated in various aspects of plant growth and development, including metal sensing in algae and directing development of leaves, embryos, and floral organs in higher plants (9,(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22). Some of these SBP do-main proteins may also be posttranscriptionally regulated by noncoding microRNAs to control their spatial and temporal expression (23)(24)(25).…”