Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Córdoba, Edificio Severo Ochoa, Campus de Rabanales, E-14014, Córdoba, Spain.
J Exp Bot. 2024 Mar 14;75(6):1726-1740. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erad384.
Classically fruit ripening and development was studied using genetic approaches, with understanding of metabolic changes that occurred in concert largely focused on a handful of metabolites including sugars, organic acids, cell wall components, and phytohormones. The advent and widespread application of metabolomics has, however, led to far greater understanding of metabolic components that play a crucial role not only in this process but also in influencing the organoleptic and nutritive properties of the fruits. Here we review how the study of natural variation, mutants, transgenics, and gene-edited fruits has led to a considerable increase in our understanding of these aspects. We focus on fleshy fruits such as tomato but also review berries, receptacle fruits, and stone-bearing fruits. Finally, we offer a perspective as to how comparative analyses and machine learning will likely further improve our comprehension of the functional importance of various metabolites in the future.
经典的水果成熟和发育研究采用了遗传方法，对伴随发生的代谢变化的理解主要集中在少数几种代谢物上，包括糖、有机酸、细胞壁成分和植物激素。然而，代谢组学的出现和广泛应用极大地促进了对代谢成分的理解，这些代谢成分不仅在这个过程中起着至关重要的作用，而且还影响着果实的感官和营养特性。在这里，我们回顾了研究自然变异、突变体、转基因和基因编辑水果如何极大地提高了我们对这些方面的认识。我们专注于肉质水果，如番茄，但也综述了浆果、花托果和核果。最后，我们提供了一个视角，即比较分析和机器学习如何可能在未来进一步提高我们对各种代谢物在功能上的重要性的理解。
