%0 Journal Article
%T The transcription factor EMB1444-like affects tomato fruit ripening by regulating YELLOW-FRUITED TOMATO 1, a core component of ethylene signaling transduction.
%A Zhao W
%A Wang S
%A Li W
%A Shan X
%A Naeem M
%A Zhang L
%A Zhao L
%J J Exp Bot
%V 74
%N 21
%D 2023 Nov 21
%M 37555619
%F 7.298
%R 10.1093/jxb/erad314
%X The fleshy fruit of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) are climacteric and, as such, ethylene plays a pivotal role in their ripening and quality traits. In this study, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, EMB1444-like, was found to induce the expression of YELLOW-FRUITED TOMATO 1 (YFT1), which encodes the SlEIN2 protein, a key element in the ethylene signaling pathway. Yeast one-hybrid and EMSA analyses revealed that EMB1444-like binds to the E-box motif (CACTTG, -1295 bp to -1290 bp upstream of the ATG start codon) of the YFT1 promoter (pYFT1). Suppression of EMB1444-like expression in tomato lines (sledl) using RNAi reduced ethylene production by lowering the expression of 1-AMINOCYCLOPROPANE-1-CARBOXYLATE SYNTHASE 2/4 (ACS2/4) and ACC OXIDASE1 (ACO1) in a positive feedback loop. sledl tomato also showed differences in numerous quality traits related to fruit ripening, compared with the wild type, such as delayed chromoplast differentiation, a decrease in carotenoid accumulation, and delayed fruit ripening in an ethylene-independent manner, or at least upstream of ripening mediated by YFT1/SlEIN2. This study elucidates the regulatory framework of fruit ripening in tomato, providing information that may be used to breed tomato hybrid cultivars with an optimal balance of shelf-life, durability, and high quality.