3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase 1 (HMG1) is highly associated with the cell division during the early stage of fruit development which determines the final fruit size in Litchi chinensis.

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR, EC: 1.1.1.34), an enzyme catalyzing the first committed step in the mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway for the biosynthesis of isoprenoids, has been reported to be involved in the fruit size determination through the regulation of early cell division. In litchi, the cell number achieved by this early cell division determines the final fruit size, but whether HMGR plays any role in this process was unknown. In this study, we set out to address this question with gene cloning and expression analysis in fruits of different pheno- or genotypes. We found that the litchi genome includes two HMGR homologues, denoted as LcHMG1 and LcHMG2. Despite 70% sequence identity at the amino acid level, they exhibited distinct expression patterns during litchi fruit development. LcHMG1 expression was highest in the early stage of fruit development, correlated with the high level of cell division. Absolute levels of LcHMG1 expression varied among fruits of different pheno- or genotypes, with expression in large-fruited types reaching higher levels for longer duration compared to that in small-fruited types. The expression patterns for LcHMG1 strongly suggest that this gene is involved in early cell division and fruit size determination in litchi. In contrast, LcHMG2 was most highly expressed in the late stage of fruit development, in association with biosynthesis of isoprenoid compounds required for later cell enlargement. These findings provided new insights on the function of HMGR genes during fruit development.

Ethylene regulation of fruit softening and cell wall disassembly in Charentais melon.

Cell wall disassembly in ripening fruit is highly complex, involving the dismantling of multiple polysaccharide networks by diverse families of wall-modifying proteins. While it has been reported in several species that multiple members of each such family are expressed in the same fruit tissue, it is not clear whether this reflects functional redundancy, with protein isozymes from a single enzyme class performing similar roles and contributing equally to wall degradation, or whether they have discrete functions, with some isoforms playing a predominant role. Experiments reported here sought to distinguish between cell wall-related processes in ripening melon that were softening-associated and softening-independent. Cell wall polysaccharide depolymerization and the expression of wall metabolism-related genes were examined in transgenic melon (Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis Naud.) fruit with suppressed expression of the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO) gene and fruits treated with ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP). Softening was completely inhibited in the transgenic fruit but was restored by treatment with exogenous ethylene. Moreover, post-harvest application of 1-MCP after the onset of ripening completely halted subsequent softening, suggesting that melon fruit softening is ethylene-dependent. Size exclusion chromatography of cell wall polysaccharides, from the transgenic fruits, with or without exogenous ethylene, indicated that the depolymerization of both pectins and xyloglucans was also ethylene dependent. However, northern analyses of a diverse range of cell wall-related genes, including those for polygalacturonases, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolases, expansin, and beta-galactosidases, identified specific genes within single families that could be categorized as ethylene-dependent, ethylene-independent, or partially ethylene-dependent. These results support the hypothesis that while individual cell wall-modifying proteins from each family contribute to cell wall disassembly that accompanies fruit softening, other closely related family members are regulated in an ethylene-independent manner and apparently do not directly participate in fruit softening.