PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “fruit development”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Biochemical and genomic analysis of sucrose metabolism during coffee (Coffea arabica) fruit development.

Sucrose metabolism and the role of sucrose synthase were investigated in the fruit tissues (pericarp, perisperm, and endosperm) of Coffea arabica during development. Acid invertase, sucrose phosphate synthase, and sucrose synthase activities were monitored and compared with the levels of sucrose and reducing sugars. Among these enzymes, sucrose synthase showed the highest activities during the last stage of endosperm and pericarp development and this activity paralleled closely the accumulation of sucrose in these tissues at this stage. Carbon partitioning in fruits was studied by pulse-chase experiments with (14)C-sugars and revealed high rates of sucrose turnover in perisperm and endosperm tissues. Additional feeding experiments with (14)CO(2) showed that leaf photosynthesis contributed more to seed development than the pericarp in terms of photosynthate supply to the endosperm. Sugar analysis, feeding experiments, and histological studies indicated that the perisperm plays an important role in this downloading process. It was observed that the perisperm presents a transient accumulation of starch which is degraded as the seed develops. Two full-length cDNAs (CaSUS1 and CaSUS2) and the complete gene sequence of the latter were also isolated. They encode sucrose synthase isoforms that are phylogenetically distinct, indicating their involvement in different physiological functions during cherry development. Contrasting expression patterns were observed for CaSUS1 and CaSUS2 in perisperm, endosperm, and pericarp tissues: CaSUS1 mRNAs accumulated mainly during the early development of perisperm and endosperm, as well as during pericarp growing phases, whereas those of CaSUS2 paralleled sucrose synthase activity in the last weeks of pericarp and endosperm development. Taken together, these results indicate that sucrose synthase plays an important role in sugar metabolism during sucrose accumulation in the coffee fruit.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed2002

Developing fruit direct post-floral morphogenesis in Helleborus niger L.

In fertilized flowers of Helleborus niger L., the sepals (the showy elements of the perianth at anthesis) grow, spread, and turn green, and the peduncles elongate. These processes did not proceed to completion when the pistils were removed at the bud stage, but could be restored by the application of plant growth regulators. Cytokinins and gibberellins stimulated the formation of well-developed chloroplasts in, and spreading of, the sepals; the gibberellin, GA3, and the auxin, 4-chloroindole-3-acetic acid, promoted peduncle elongation. In fruit-bearing flowers, on the other hand, paclobutrazol, an inhibitor of gibberellin biosynthesis, reduced chlorophyll formation in the sepals, reversed sepal spreading, and inhibited peduncle elongation. Of the endogenous growth regulators in developing fruit, the following cytokinins were identified: zeatin, dihydrozeatin, N6-(2-isopentenyl)adenine and their ribosides and 9-glucosides. Zeatin riboside drastically increased in abundance (about 200 times), shortly after fertilization, when chlorophyll accumulation in the sepals occurred at the fastest rate, and remained the most prominent identified cytokinin until seed ripening.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

An expressed sequence tag (EST) library from developing fruits of an Hawaiian endemic mint (Stenogyne rugosa, Lamiaceae): characterization and microsatellite markers.

BACKGROUND: The endemic Hawaiian mints represent a major island radiation that likely originated from hybridization between two North American polyploid lineages. In contrast with the extensive morphological and ecological diversity among taxa, ribosomal DNA sequence variation has been found to be remarkably low. In the past few years, expressed sequence tag (EST) projects on plant species have generated a vast amount of publicly available sequence data that can be mined for simple sequence repeats (SSRs). However, these EST projects have largely focused on crop or otherwise economically important plants, and so far only few studies have been published on the use of intragenic SSRs in natural plant populations. We constructed an EST library from developing fleshy nutlets of Stenogyne rugosa principally to identify genetic markers for the Hawaiian endemic mints. RESULTS: The Stenogyne fruit EST library consisted of 628 unique transcripts derived from 942 high quality ESTs, with 68% of unigenes matching Arabidopsis genes. Relative frequencies of Gene Ontology functional categories were broadly representative of the Arabidopsis proteome. Many unigenes were identified as putative homologs of genes that are active during plant reproductive development. A comparison between unigenes from Stenogyne and tomato (both asterid angiosperms) revealed many homologs that may be relevant for fruit development. Among the 628 unigenes, a total of 44 potentially useful microsatellite loci were predicted. Several of these were successfully tested for cross-transferability to other Hawaiian mint species, and at least five of these demonstrated interesting patterns of polymorphism across a large sample of Hawaiian mints as well as close North American relatives in the genus Stachys. CONCLUSION: Analysis of this relatively small EST library illustrated a broad GO functional representation. Many unigenes could be annotated to involvement in reproductive development. Furthermore, first tests of microsatellite primer pairs have proven promising for the use of Stenogyne rugosa EST SSRs for evolutionary and phylogeographic studies of the Hawaiian endemic mints and their close relatives. Given that allelic repeat length variation in developmental genes of other organisms has been linked with morphological evolution, these SSRs may also prove useful for analyses of phenotypic differences among Hawaiian mints.

5' Untranslated Regions↗
PubMed1975

Parthenocarpic Fruit Development from Grafted Ovaries of Cucuminis sativus L.

Reciprocal cleft and pistillate floral bud grafts were made between parthenocarpic ;Fertilla' and nonparthenocarpic ;MSU 713-5' cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) lines to localize the site for stimulation of parthenocarpic fruit set. No fruit set on ;MSU 713-5' controls, scion grafted to ;Fertilla,' or rootstock with ;Fertilla' as the scion. ;Fertilla' controls, rootstock, and scions all produced parthenocarpic fruit when grafted to ;MSU 713-5.' When pistillate floral buds of ;MSU 713-5' were grafted to ;Fertilla,' no fruit were produced. However, individual immature pistillate buds of ;Fertilla' developed into mature fruits when grafted onto ;MSU 713-5.' Hence, the immature ovary is the site of stimulation for parthenocarpic fruit set in cucumber.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Studies on water transport through the sweet cherry fruit surface: II. Conductance of the cuticle in relation to fruit development.

Water conductance of the cuticular membrane (CM) of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L. cv. Sam) fruit during stages II and III (31-78 days after full bloom, DAFB) was investigated by gravimetrically monitoring water loss through segments of the exocarp. Segments were mounted in stainless-steel diffusion cells, filled with 0.5 ml of deionized water and incubated for 8 h at 25 +/- 2 degrees C over dry silica. Conductance was calculated by dividing the amount of water transpired per unit surface area and time by the difference in water vapor concentration across the segment (23.07 g m(-3) at 25 degrees C). Fruit mass and fruit surface area increased 4.9- and 2.8-fold between 31 and 78 DAFB, respectively. However, CM mass per unit area decreased from 3.9 to 1.5 g m(-2) and percentage of total wax content remained constant at about 31%. Stomatal density decreased from 0.8 to 0.2 mm(-2) (31-78 DAFB). Total conductance of the CM on the fruit cheek (gtot.) remained constant during stage II of development (approx. 1.38 x 10(-4) m s(-1) from 31 to 37 DAFB), increased to 1.73 x 10(-4) m s(-1) during early stage III of fruit growth (43-64 DAFB) then decreased to 0.95 x 10(-4) m s(-1) at maturity (78 DAFB). Partitioning gtot. into cuticular (gcut.) and stomatal conductance (gsto.) revealed that the relative contribution of gcut. to gtot. increased linearly from 30% to 87% of gtot. between 31 and 78 DAFB. respectively. On a whole-fruit basis, g,tot. and gcut. consistently increased up to 64 DAFB, and decreased thereafter. A significant negative linear relationship was obtained between gcut. and CM thickness, but not between the permeability coefficient (p) and CM thickness. Further, p was positively related to strain rate, suggesting that strain associated with expansion of the fruit surface increased p.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1999

Differential expression of two spermidine synthase genes during early fruit development and in vegetative tissues of pea.

Two cDNAs from young pea fruits coding for functional spermidine synthases (EC 2.5.1.16) were isolated. The corresponding genes were named psSPDSYN1 and psSPDSYN2. Both cDNAs complemented spe3delta gene when introduced into the Y480 strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is a null mutant for the spermidine synthase gene. psSPDSYN1 and psSPDSYN2 are regulated differentially. psSPDSYN1 is up-regulated early after fruit set whereas psSPDSYN2 is expressed later. Spermidine synthase activity was detected in pea ovaries, and correlates with the pattern of expression of psSPDSYN1. In the pea plant, psSPDSYN1 is highly expressed in actively growing tissues, whereas the highest level of psSPDSYN2 mRNA was detected in fully elongated stem.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Activity and expression of banana starch phosphorylases during fruit development and ripening.

Two main forms of starch phosphorylase (EC 2.4.1.1) were identified and purified from banana (Musa acuminata Colla. cv. Nanicão) fruit. One of them, designated phosphorylase I, had a native molecular weight of 155 kDa and subunit of 90 kDa, a high affinity towards branched glucans and an isoelectric point around 5.0. The other, phosphorylase II, eluted at a higher salt concentration from the anion exchanger, had a low affinity towards branched glucans, a native molecular weight of 290 kDa and subunit of 112 kDa. Kinetic studies showed that both forms had typical hyperbolic curves for orthophosphate (Pi) and glucose-1-phosphate, and that they could not react with substrates with a blocked reducing end or alpha-1,6 glucosidic bonds. Antibodies prepared against the purified type-II form and cross-reacting with the type-I form showed that there was an increase in protein content during development and ripening of the fruit. The changes in protein level were parallel to those of phosphorylase activity, in both the phosphorolytic and synthetic directions. Considering the kinetics, indicating that starch phosphorylases are not under allosteric control, it can be argued that protein synthesis makes a contribution to regulating phosphorylase activity in banana fruit and that hormones, like gibberellic acid and indole-3-acetic acid, may play a regulating role. For the first time, starch phosphorylases isoforms were detected as starch-granule-associated proteins by immunostaining of SDS-PAGE gels.

Fruit↗
PubMed2000

Fruit development in Capsicum annuum: changes in capsaicin, lignin, free phenolics, and peroxidase patterns.

Pepper fruits, of Capsicum annuum cv. Padron, undergo changes in content of capsaicinoids, lignin, and free phenolics during the maturation process. Although capsaicinoids increase with development, the maximal levels of free phenolics and lignin are observed during the early stages of development. A decrease of peroxidase activity was observed during maturation, and this was related with a decrease in other physiological parameters studied, namely chlorophylls and pH. Subcellular fractionation studies reveal that most peroxidase activity is localized in the soluble fraction throughout development. The changes in the peroxidase activity were accompanied by changes in the different isoenzymes. Acidic isoenzymes increased whereas the basic isoenzymes decreased over the same period, and the changes in these isoenzymes were related with capsaicin metabolism.

Capsaicin↗
PubMed2001

Metabolism of indole-3-acetic acid by orange (Citrus sinensis) flavedo tissue during fruit development.

[5-3H, 1'-14C, 13C6, 12C] Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), was applied to the flavedo (epicarp) of intact orange fruits at different stages of development. After incubation in the dark, at 25 degrees C, the tissue was extracted with MeOH and the partially purified extracts were analyzed by reversed phase HPLC-RC. Six major metabolite peaks were detected and subsequently analyzed by combined HPLC-frit-FAB MS. The metabolite peak 6 contained oxindole-3-acetic acid (OxIAA), indole-3-acetyl-N-aspartic acid (IAAsp) and also indole-3-acetyl-N-glutamic acid (IAGlu). The nature of metabolite 5 remains unknown. Metabolites 3 and 4 were diastereomers of oxindole-3-acetyl-N-aspartic acid (OxIAAsp). Metabolite 2 was identified as dioxindole-3-acetic acid and metabolite 1 as a DiOx-IAA linked in position three to a hexose, which is suggested to be 3-(-O-beta-glucosyl) dioxindole-3-acetic acid (DiOxIAGlc). Identification work as well as feeding experiments with the [5-3H]IAA labeled metabolites suggest that IAA is metabolized in flavedo tissue mainly through two pathways, namely IAA-OxIAA-DiOxIAA-DiOxIAGlc and IAA-IAAsp-OxIAAsp. The flavedo of citrus fruit has a high capacity for IAA catabolism until the beginning of fruit senescence, with the major route having DiOxIAGlc as end product. This capacity is operative even at high IAA concentrations and is accelerated by pretreatment with the synthetic auxins 2,4-D, NAA and the gibberellin GA3.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed1999

Stage- and tissue-specific expression of ethylene receptor homolog genes during fruit development in muskmelon.

We isolated two muskmelon (Cucumis melo) cDNA homologs of the Arabidopsis ethylene receptor genes ETR1 and ERS1 and designated them Cm-ETR1 (C. melo ETR1; accession no. AF054806) and Cm-ERS1 (C. melo ERS1; accession no. AF037368), respectively. Northern analysis revealed that the level of Cm-ERS1 mRNA in the pericarp increased in parallel with the increase in fruit size and then markedly decreased at the end of enlargement. In fully enlarged fruit the level of Cm-ERS1 mRNA was low in all tissues, whereas that of Cm-ETR1 mRNA was very high in the seeds and placenta. During ripening Cm-ERS1 mRNA increased slightly in the pericarp of fruit before the marked increase of Cm-ETR1 mRNA paralleled climacteric ethylene production. These results indicate that both Cm-ETR1 and Cm-ERS1 play specific roles not only in ripening but also in the early development of melon fruit and that they have distinct roles in particular fruit tissues at particular developmental stages.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed2006

Sucrose transporter LeSUT1 and LeSUT2 inhibition affects tomato fruit development in different ways.

Sucrose transporters of higher plants belong to a large gene family. At least four different sucrose transporters are known in Solanaceous plants, although their function remains to be elucidated in detail. The isolation of LeSUT1 and LeSUT2from Lycopersicon esculentum has been described earlier. Whereas SUT1 is supposed to be the main phloem loader of sucrose in Solanaceae, the role of SUT2 remains a matter of debate. A transgenic approach was taken to evaluate the potential functions of SUT2/SUC3 proteins in sucrose transport or sensing. Expression of LeSUT1 and LeSUT2 was inhibited independently in transgenic tomato plants, using the antisense technique, in order to analyse their specific functions. Although the phloem-specific inhibition of LeSUT1 antisense plants showed a phenotype consistent with an essential role in phloem loading, constitutive LeSUT2 antisense inhibition exclusively affected tomato fruit and seed development. Neither LeSUT1, nor the LeSUT2 antisense plants were able to produce normal tomato fruits; however, it is likely that independent mechanisms underlie these phenomena. While phloem loading was blocked in LeSUT1 antisense plants, the fertility of fruits was reduced in LeSUT2 antisense plants. A detailed physiological analysis of these plants established a role for SUT2 in pollen tube growth and thus assigned a physiological role for SUT2.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1988

DNA Methylation Occurred around Lowly Expressed Genes of Plastid DNA during Tomato Fruit Development.

We have analyzed DNA methylation of plastid DNA from fully ripened red fruits, green mature fruits, and green leaves of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. Firstmore). Essentially identical restriction profiles were obtained between chromoplast and chloroplast DNAs by EcoRI digestion. BstNI/EcoRII and HpaII/MspI are pairs of isoschizomers that can discriminate between methylated and unmethylated DNAs. These endonucleases produced different restriction patterns of plastid DNAs from tomato fruits compared to tomato leaves. Moreover, we have found from Southern blots that methylation was not detected in DNA fragments containing certain genes that are actively expressed in chromoplasts, whereas DNA fragments bearing genes that are barely transcribed in chromoplasts are methylated.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Identification of genes with potential roles in apple fruit development and biochemistry through large-scale statistical analysis of expressed sequence tags.

Advanced studies of apple (Malus domestica Borkh) development, physiology, and biochemistry have been hampered by the lack of appropriate genomics tools. One exception is the recent acquisition of extensive expressed sequence tag (EST) data. The entire available EST dataset for apple resulted from the efforts of at least 20 contributors and was derived from more than 70 cDNA libraries representing diverse transcriptional profiles from a variety of organs, fruit parts, developmental stages, biotic and abiotic stresses, and from at least nine cultivars. We analyzed apple EST sequences available in public databanks using statistical algorithms to identify those apple genes that are likely to be highly expressed in fruit, expressed uniquely or preferentially in fruit, and/or temporally or spatially regulated during fruit growth and development. We applied these results to the analysis of biochemical pathways involved in biosynthesis of precursors for volatile esters and identified a subset of apple genes that may participate in generating flavor and aroma components found in mature fruit.

Biometry↗
PubMed1995

The effect of defruiting at different stages of fruit development on leaf photosynthesis of "Golden Delicious" apple.

Net photosynthetic rates (A) of leaves on 11-year-old, field-grown apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh. cv. Golden Delicious) were measured after removal of fruits at four different stages of development. Defruiting decreased A by 21, 42, 27 and 7% when fruits were growing at 311, 293, 229 and 113 mg(DW) day(-1), respectively. Photosynthesis was inhibited more in the afternoon than in the morning, but it was not affected during the first 8 h after fruit removal. Inhibition of A was positively correlated with crop sink strength, but it was not correlated with fruit relative growth rate or crop load. Defruiting decreased A at saturating irradiances (PPFD > 1000 micro mol m(-2) s(-1)), but did not modify the apparent quantum yield of single leaves. These results suggest that the overall effect of defruiting on carbon fixation is negligible in dense canopies, but it may be significant in sparse canopies and in single shoots.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Characterization of gene repertoires at mature stage of citrus fruits through random sequencing and analysis of redundant metallothionein-like genes expressed during fruit development.

We carried out a random sequencing of cDNA library derived from mature citrus fruit (Citrus unshiu Marc.) for identifying the gene repertoires expressed at the mature stage. Among 297 clones analyzed, 195 cDNA clones (65.7%) were putatively identified to previously characterized genes with optimized (OPT) scores of >/=200 through a homology search to DNA database, whereas 102 clones (34.3%) resulted in low OPT scores (<200) and did not show any significant sequence identity with previously published genes. Among them, clones homologous to metallothionein (MT)-like genes appeared 62 times, being mostly redundant, and accounting for about 20.9% of the total 297 clones. To gain a better understanding of the MT-like genes, two types of cDNA clones were isolated. One clone (CitMT36) resembled the type 2 MT gene containing Cys-X-Cys motifs in both N- and C-terminal, but the consensus sequence in the N-terminal domain, Cys-Cys and Cys-X-X-Cys was modified in CitMT36 to X-Cys and Cys-X-X-X, respectively. We suggest that these form a 'novel type 2' group of MT-like clones. The other clone (CitMT45) showed homology to type 3 MT-like genes, which have been found in mostly fruit tissues so far. By Southern blot analysis, both clones showed one or two bands, suggesting that both CitMT36 and CitMT45 are present in single or a few copies in the citrus genome. Transcripts of CitMT36 were evenly detected in all tissues examined, whereas those of CitMT45 were detected primarily in fruit during the developmental phase. Neither of the MT-like genes was induced in leaves by Zn and Cu. Collectively, MT-like genes from citrus would be regulated differentially depending on the fruit developmental stage and organs, indicating a change in their expression under the different physiological and molecular environment of fruit cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Molecular cloning of a ripening-specific lipoxygenase and its expression during wild-type and mutant tomato fruit development.

A 94-kD protein that accumulates predominately in tomato (Ly-copersicon esculentum) fruit during ripening was purified, and antibodies specific for the purified protein were used to isolate cDNA clones from a red-ripe fruit cDNA library. A sequence analysis of these cDNAs and cross-reactivity of the 94-kD-specific antibodies to the soybean lipoxygenase (LOX) L-1, L-2, and L-3 proteins and soybean LOX L-1-specific antibodies to the 94-kD protein identified it as a member of the LOX gene family. Maximum levels of the 94-kD LOX mRNA and protein are present in breaker to ripe and red-ripe stages, respectively. Expression of 94-kD LOX in different tissues from mature green and red-ripe tomato fruits was found to be greatest in the radial walls of ripe fruit, but immunocytolocalization using tissue printing suggests that the highest accumulation of its protein occurs in locular jelly. None of 94-kD LOX is expressed in nonripening mutant fruits of any age. Never-ripe mutant fruit accumulate the 94-kD LOX mRNA to levels similar to those obtained in wild-type fruit, but fail to accumulate the 94-kD LOX protein. Collectively, the results show that expression of 94-kD LOX is regulated by the ripening process, and ethylene may play a role in its protein accumulation.

Cloning, Molecular↗
PubMed1980

Polygalacturonase Activity and Ethylene Synthesis during Cucumber Fruit Development and Maturation.

Polygalacturonase (EC 3.2.1.15) activity in seed cavity tissue from harvested cucumber fruit increased over 20-fold after the fruit had produced a transient burst of ethylene during maturation. This increase was observed in six cucumber cultivars and was present whether polygalacturonase activity was measured at pH 4.6 or 6.2. The seed cavity tissue pH decreased as polygalacturonase activity increased both in ripening fruit and in harvested immature fruit exposed to 10 microliters per liter ethylene in air.

Journal Article↗