The Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of Fruit Ripening

Contents

List of Contributors ix

Preface xi

Chapter 1 Biochemistry of Fruit Ripening 1
Sonia Osorio and Alisdair R. Fernie

Introduction 1

Central Carbon Metabolism 4

Ethylene in Ripening 7

Polyamines 9

Volatiles 10

Cell Wall Metabolism 11

Concluding Remarks 13

References 13

Chapter 2 Fruit—An Angiosperm Innovation 21
Sandra Knapp and Amy Litt

Introduction 21

Fruit in the Fossil Record 30

Fruit Variation and Angiosperm Phylogeny 32

Fruit Development 33

Fruit as a Driver of Angiosperm Diversity 36

Acknowledgments 38

References 38

Chapter 3 Ethylene and the Control of Fruit Ripening 43
Don Grierson

Introduction 43

Ethylene and Climacteric and Nonclimacteric Fruits 46

A Molecular Explanation for System-1 and System-2 Ethylene 48

Ethylene and Ripening Gene Networks in Flower and Fruit Development 53

Ethylene Perception and Signaling 54

Ethylene Response Factors 60

Ethylene and Ripening Gene Expression 60

Conclusions 67

Acknowledgments 68

References 68

Chapter 4 Carotenoid Biosynthesis and Chlorophyll Degradation 75
Peter M. Bramley

Introduction 75

Distribution of Carotenoids and Chlorophylls in Fruit 75

Chlorophyll Degradation and Recycling 78

Carotenoids and Carotenoid Metabolites 82

Future Perspectives 100

Acknowledgments 102

Bibliography 102

Chapter 5 Phenylpropanoid Metabolism and Biosynthesis of Anthocyanins 117
Laura Jaakola

Introduction 117

Cinnamic Acids 119

Monolignols, Lignans, and Lignin 120

Coumarins 120

Stilbenoids 122

Flavonoids 122

Engineering Elevated Levels of Flavonoids and Other Phenylpropanoids 128

Conclusion 129

References 129

Chapter 6 Biosynthesis of Volatile Compounds 135
Antonio Granell and Jose Luis Rambla

Introduction 135

Metabolic Pathways 136

Identification of Quantitative Trait Loci for Volatiles 152

Metabolic Engineering of the Fruit Volatile Pathways 153

Future Perspectives 154

References 155

Chapter 7 Cell Wall Architecture and Metabolism in Ripening Fruit and the Complex Relationship with Softening 163
Eliel Ruiz-May and Jocelyn K.C. Rose

Introduction 163

Building Blocks of Fruit Cell Walls 164

The Architecture of Fruit Cell Walls 168

Cell Wall Dynamics in Ripening Fruit 171

The Cuticular Cell Wall and Fruit Softening 177

Summary 179

Acknowledgments 180

References 180

Chapter 8 Regulatory Networks Controlling Ripening 189
Betsy Ampopho, Natalie Chapman, Graham B. Seymour, and James J. Giovannoni

Hormonal Control 189

Genetic Networks 191

Epigenetic Regulation 200

References 201

Index 207