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Timing of ripening initiation in grape berries and its relationship to seed content and pericarp auxin levels

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Title Timing of ripening initiation in grape berries and its relationship to seed content and pericarp auxin levels
Names Gouthu, Satyanarayana (creator)
Deluc, Laurent G. (creator)
Date Issued 2015-02-12 (iso8601)
Note This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by BioMed Central Ltd. The published article can be found at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcplantbiol/.
Abstract BACKGROUND: Individual berries in a grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cluster enter the ripening phase at different times
leading to an asynchronous cluster in terms of ripening. The factors causing this variable ripening initiation among
berries are not known. Because the influence via hormonal communication of the seed on fruit set and growth is
well known across fruit species, differences in berry seed content and resultant quantitative or qualitative
differences in the hormone signals to the pericarp likely influence the relative timing of ripening initiation among
berries of the cluster.
RESULTS: At the time of the initiation of cluster ripening (véraison), underripe green berries have higher seed
content compared to the riper berries and there is a negative correlation between the seed weight-to-berry weight
ratio (SB) and the sugar level in berries of a cluster. Auxin levels in seeds relative to the pericarp tissues are two to
12 times higher at pre-ripening stages. The pericarp of berries with high-SB had higher auxin and lower abscisic
acid (ABA) levels compared to those with low-SB from two weeks before véraison. In the prevéraison cluster, the
expression of auxin-response factor genes was significantly higher in the pericarp of high-SB berries and remained
higher until véraison compared to low-SB berries. The expression level of auxin-biosynthetic genes in the pericarp
was the same between both berry groups based upon similar expression activity of YUC genes that are rate-limiting
factors in auxin biosynthesis. On the other hand, in low-SB berries, the expression of ABA-biosynthetic and
ABA-inducible NCED and MYB genes was higher even two weeks before véraison.
CONCLUSIONS: Differences in the relative seed content among berries plays a major role in the timing of ripening
initiation. Towards the end of berry maturation phase, low and high levels of auxin are observed in the pericarp of
low- and high-SB berries, respectively. This results in higher auxin-signaling activity that lasts longer in the pericarp
of high-SB berries. In contrast, in low-SB berries, concomitant with an earlier decrease of auxin level, the features of
ripening initiation, such as increases in ABA and sugar accumulation begin earlier.
Genre Article
Access Condition http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
Topic Seed
Identifier Gouthu, S., & Deluc, L. G. (2015). Timing of ripening initiation in grape berries and its relationship to seed content and pericarp auxin levels. BMC Plant Biology, 15, 46. doi:10.1186/s12870-015-0440-6

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