Characterization and Potential Action Mode Divergences of Homologous ACO1 Genes during the Organ Development and Ripening Process between Non-Climacteric Grape and Climacteric Peach

Abstract

Ethylene is one crucial phytohormone modulating plants’ organ development and ripening process, especially in fruits, but its action modes and discrepancies in non-climacteric grape and climacteric peach in these processes remain elusive. This work is focused on the action mode divergences of ethylene during the modulation of the organ development and ripening process in climacteric/non-climacteric plants. We characterized the key enzyme genes in the ethylene synthesis pathway, VvACO1 and PpACO1, and uncovered that their sequence structures are highly conserved, although their promoters exhibit important divergences in the numbers and types of the cis-elements responsive to hormones, implying various responses to hormone signals. Subsequently, we found the two have similar expression modes in vegetative organ development but inverse patterns in reproductive ones, especially in fruits. Then, VvACO1 and PpACO1 were further validated in promoting fruit ripening functions through their transient over-expression/RNAi-expression in tomatoes, of which the former possesses a weaker role than the latter in the fruit ripening process. Our findings illuminated the divergence in the action patterns and function traits of the key VvACO1/PpACO1 genes in the tissue development of climacteric/non-climacteric plants, and they have implications for further gaining insight into the interaction mechanism of ethylene signaling during the modulation of the organ development and ripening process in climacteric/non-climacteric plants.