Overexpression of Accelerates Fruit Ripening and Increases Cold Hardiness in Tomato.

Ethylene plays an important role in stress adaptation and fruit ripening. Acireductone dioxygenase (ARD) is pivotal for ethylene biosynthesis. However, the response of ARD to fruit ripening or cold stress is still unclear. In this study, we identified three members of ARD family, and expression profile analysis revealed that the transcript level of was induced during apple fruit ripening and after apple plants were being treated with cold stress. To investigate its function in cold tolerance and fruit ripening, was ectopically expressed in cultivar 'Micro-Tom', which has been considered as an excellent model plant for the study of fruit ripening. At the cellular level, the MdARD protein expressed throughout epidermal cells. Overexpression of in tomato demonstrated that regulates the ethylene and carotenoid signaling pathway, increases ethylene and carotenoid concentrations, and accelerates fruit ripening. Furthermore, increased the antioxidative ability and cold hardiness in tomato. To conclude, may potentially be used in apple breeding to accelerate fruit ripening and increase cold hardiness.