CHS silencing suggests a negative cross-talk between wax and flavonoid pathways in tomato fruit cuticle |
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| Authors: | Antonio Heredia José Alejandro Heredia-Guerrero Eva Domínguez |
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| Institution: | 1.IHSM UMA-CSIC; Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica; Universidad de Málaga; Málaga, Spain;2.Smart Materials; Department of Nanophysics; Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia; Genoa, Italy;3.IHSM UMA-CSIC; Departamento de Mejora Genética y Biotecnología; Estación Experimental La Mayora; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Algarrobo-Costa, Málaga, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Tomato fruits (Solanum lycopersicum L.) accumulate flavonoids in their cuticle and epidermal cells during ripening. These flavonoids come from de novo biosynthesis due to a significant increase in chalcone synthase (CHS) activity during ripening. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of tomato fruits have been used to down-regulate SlCHS expression during ripening and analyze the effects at the epidermal and cuticle level. Besides the expected change in fruit color due to a lack of flavonoids incorporated to the cuticle, several other modifications such as a decrease in the amount of cutin and polysaccharides were observed. These indicate a role for either flavonoids or CHS in the alteration of the expression levels of some genes involved in cuticle biosynthesis. Moreover, a negative interaction between the 2 cuticle components, flavonoids and waxes, suggests a relationship between these 2 metabolic pathways. |
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| Keywords: | cutin flavonoids plant cuticle tomato waxes |
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