Biochemical and molecular regulation of tomato ripening and disease defense: A trade-off between quality and postharvest integrity.
Chen Z, Liu J, Zhimo VY, Wu X, Wisniewski M
Crop Improvement
It could lead to tomatoes that stay fresh on your counter or in stores for much longer without going moldy, reducing the roughly 30-40% of tomatoes lost to postharvest disease every year.
As tomatoes ripen, the same biological changes that make them soft, sweet, and colorful — like breaking down their cell walls and building up sugars — also strip away the natural defenses that protect them from fungal infections. Scientists reviewed all the hormones, genes, and molecular switches involved in both ripening and disease resistance, finding they are deeply intertwined. The goal is to find ways to nudge tomatoes toward staying firm and disease-resistant a bit longer without making them less delicious.
Key Findings
Ethylene is the master hormone driving tomato ripening, but it interacts with at least five other hormones (including jasmonic acid and salicylic acid) that also regulate disease defense, making ripening and immunity inseparable.
Three key transcription factors — MADS-RIN, NAC-NOR, and SBP-CNR — simultaneously control ripening progression and increase susceptibility to necrotrophic fungi such as Botrytis cinerea.
Epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs act as additional layers of control that link ripening timing to immune response, offering new targets for crop improvement without direct gene editing.
chevron_right Technical Summary
When tomatoes ripen, they become tastier and more nutritious — but also far more vulnerable to mold and fungal rot. Scientists have mapped the hormonal and genetic systems behind this trade-off, pointing toward ways to keep tomatoes disease-resistant longer without sacrificing flavor or nutrition.
Abstract Preview
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit ripening is a complex, finely regulated developmental process that enhances sensory and nutritional quality but also compromises resistance to pathogens, especia...
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