Wound-regulated accumulation of specific transcripts in tomato fruit: interactions with fruit development, ethylene and light.

Regulation of three cDNA clones (pT52, pT53, and pT58) was analyzed in terms of wounding alone and wounding in conjunction with developmental and environmental cues (ripening, ethylene, and light) in tomato fruit tissue. The pT52-specific transcript level is induced by wounding in early-red and red stage fruit and by ethylene. The pT58-specific transcript level is also induced by wounding and ethylene in early-red stage fruit but is not induced by wounding in red fruit. The pT53-specific transcript level is repressed by wounding in early-red and red stage fruit. Like the pT52- and pT58-specific transcripts, the pT53-specific transcript is induced by ethylene. Furthermore, the level of the pT52-specific transcript is regulated by light. Analysis of unwounded tissue showed that the abundance of each cDNA-specific transcript changes during fruit ripening and that each of the transcripts is present in other plant organs as well. This analysis provides information about the interactions between developmental and environmental factors affecting these genes.