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Transcriptional RegulAtory Network controlling Strawberry Fruit Ripening and Quality

Descripción del proyecto

Identificación de los factores de transcripción básicos que regulan la maduración de la fresa

Los programas de mejora genética de frutas suelen priorizar los rasgos agronómicos y pasan por alto el papel esencial que tienen la maduración en el desarrollo de la calidad del sabor. Esto se traduce en una variabilidad genética limitada en varias frutas carnosas, como las fresas, ya que los cultivares actuales proceden de una reducida reserva de germoplasma. Las fresas, a diferencia de las frutas climatéricas, experimentan un proceso de maduración no climatérico en el que no participa la hormona etileno. Para abordar estas cuestiones, el equipo del proyecto TRANSFR-Q, financiado con fondos europeos, utilizará como organismo modelo «Fragaria vesca», pariente silvestre de la fresa cultivada. El objetivo del proyecto es identificar los factores de transcripción básicos que regulan la maduración de la fresa, validar su función y dilucidar las redes de regulación génica que controlan el proceso de maduración.

Objetivo

Ripening is the critical step for the development of flavour quality in fruit. This character has significantly declined in many fleshy fruits over recent decades, primarily due to the focus of current breeding programs on agronomic traits such as production, firmness, and postharvest shelf life. This strategy has caused a tunnelling effect on genetic variability in many crops. This is particularly significant in strawberry, where current cultivars are derived from a narrow germplasm stock. A notable feature of strawberry fruit is that undergoes a non-climacteric ripening program independent of the hormone ethylene, in contrast to well studied climacteric fruits such as tomato, where ethylene plays a central role. Therefore, improving fruit flavour in present strawberry varieties requires two important breakthroughs: 1) a precise understanding of non-climacteric fruit ripening regulation that will allow the targeting of relevant quality genes, and 2) the identification of unexploited allelic variants from wild germplasm to be introgressed through the generation of novel breeding lines. The first objective will be achieved by (i) focusing on the sequenced, diploid Fragaria vesca, a wild relative of the cultivated strawberry that will serve as a model, (ii) identifying key transcription factors (TFs) regulating fruit ripening by generating a stage- and tissue-specific gene expression map, (iii) using a candidate gene approach and reverse genetics based on gene silencing and TILLING to verify the role of these TFs, and (iv) defining the gene regulatory networks controlling the ripening process via integration of transcriptomic, metabolomic and ChIP-Seq data obtained from the stably silenced and/or TILLED lines. Finally, TRANSFR-Q plans to use this knowledge, combined with the identification of novel alleles from a core collection of Fragaria germplasm, to transfer flavour quality characters into current strawberry cultivars.

Régimen de financiación

ERC-STG - Starting Grant

Institución de acogida

UNIVERSIDAD DE MALAGA
Aportación neta de la UEn
€ 1 500 000,00
Dirección
AVDA CERVANTES, NUM. 2
29016 Malaga
España

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Región
Sur Andalucía Málaga
Tipo de actividad
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Enlaces
Coste total
€ 1 500 000,00

Beneficiarios (1)