Nature Genetics 38, 948 - 952 (2006)
Published online: 9 July 2006; | doi:10.1038/ng1841
A naturally occurring epigenetic mutation in a gene encoding an SBP-box transcription factor inhibits tomato fruit ripeningKenneth Manning1, Mahmut Tör1, Mervin Poole2, Yiguo Hong1, Andrew J Thompson1, Graham J King3, James J Giovannoni4 & Graham B Seymour21
Warwick Horticulture Research International (HRI), University of Warwick, Wellesbourne, Warwick CV35 9EF, UK. 2
Plant Sciences Division, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK. 3
Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK. 4
US Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service and Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Science Research, Cornell University, Tower Road, Ithaca, New York 14853-2901, USA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Graham B Seymour Graham.Seymour@nottingham.ac.uk A major component in the regulatory network controlling fruit ripening is likely to be the gene at the tomato Colorless non-ripening (Cnr) locus1,
2. The Cnr mutation results in colorless fruits with a substantial loss of cell-to-cell adhesion. The nature of the mutation and the identity of the Cnr gene were previously unknown. Using positional cloning and virus-induced gene silencing, here we demonstrate that an SBP-box (SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein–like) gene resides at the Cnr locus. Furthermore, the Cnr phenotype results from a spontaneous epigenetic change in the SBP-box promoter. The discovery that Cnr is an epimutation was unexpected, as very few spontaneous epimutations have been described in plants3,
4. This study demonstrates that an SBP-box gene is critical for normal ripening and highlights the likely importance of epialleles in plant development and the generation of natural variation.
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