The ripening of a fleshy fruit represents the summation of an array of biochemical processes that are regulated by interactions between developmental programs and environmental inputs. Analysis of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) mutants and inhibitor studies indicate that ethylene is necessary for full development of the ripening program of climacteric fruit such as tomato, yet ethylene alone is not sufficient. This suggests that an interaction between ethylene and nonethylene (or developmental) pathways mediates ripening. In this study, we have examined the physiological basis for ripening inhibition of the dominant Green-ripe (Gr) and Never-ripe 2 (Nr-2) mutants of tomato. Our data suggest that this inhibition is due to ethylene insensitivity in mutant fruit. Further investigation of ethylene responses in Gr and Nr-2 plants also revealed weak ethylene insensitivity during floral senescence and abscission and, during inhibition of root elongation, a phenotype associated with the triple response. However, ethylene-induced inhibition of hypocotyl elongation and petiole epinasty are normal in Gr and Nr-2, suggesting that these loci regulate a subset of ethylene responses. We have mapped both dominant mutations to a 2-cM overlapping region of the long arm of chromosome 1 of tomato, a region not previously linked to any known ethylene signaling loci. The phenotypic similarity and overlapping map location of these mutations suggest Gr and Nr-2 may be allelic and may possibly encode a novel component of the ethylene response pathway.The ripening of a fruit represents the culmination of a series of biochemical processes that have evolved as a mechanism of seed dispersal. In the case of fleshy fruits, the changes that occur during ripening impart desirable characteristics to the fruit such as bright colors, softening, and sugar and volatile accumulation that attract animals and birds to aid dispersal. Fruits also form an essential component of the human diet providing sources of sugars, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Therefore, the study of fruit ripening is of importance to both basic plant biology and agriculture.Although there is great diversity in fruit anatomy and phenotypes, the biochemical changes that occur during ripening are conserved in many plant species. For example, research carried out on diverse species indicates that at the onset of ripening there is often a coordinated increase in gene expression and enzyme activity of many proteins involved in cell wall metabolism, pigment synthesis, and sugar metabolism (Seymour et al., 1993). These data suggest that the genetic mechanisms that regulate fruit ripening are likely conserved. Little is known of the identities of these genetic pathways, although experiments, largely performed using tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), have led to the hypothesis that ripening in climacteric fruits such as tomato, banana, apple, and stone fruits is regulated by ethylene dependent and independent pathways (Adams-Phillips et al., 2004a;Giovannoni, 2004).The involvement...