ArticleThe Plant cell1999
Modification of expansin protein abundance in tomato fruit alters softening and cell wall polymer metabolism during ripening
Article in The Plant cell, 1999. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 132 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
132 citing papers in PubMed, 478 citations in OpenAlex.
- The novel function of the bZIP transcription factor VSF-1 in mediating fruit firmness in tomato.Horticulture research · 2026Article
- Natural variation in SlGRF10 reveals a role in regulating tomato fruit weight.Plant physiology · 2026Article
- SlERF-RD1 acts as a developmental coordinator integrating plant canopy architecture and the ethylene-mediated ripening cascade in tomato.Plant cell reports · 2026Article
- Plant Genetic Engineering: Technological Pathways, Application Scenarios, and Future Directions.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Cell layer-specific cell wall modification is associated with exo-mesocarp split in pistachio (Pistacia vera L.).Journal of experimental botany · 2026Article
- Advances in Cell Wall Dynamics and Gene Expression in Postharvest Fruit Softening.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- ENDOGLUCANASE SlCEL2 and EXPANSIN SlEXP1 synergistically affect cellulose degrading and tomato fruit softening.BMC plant biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Allelic variation in an expansin, MdEXP-A1, contributes to flesh firmness at harvest in apples.Molecular horticulture · 2025Article
- The genetics of fruit skin separation in date palm.BMC plant biology · 2024Article
- Alpha-expansins: more than three decades of wall creep and loosening in fruits.Plant molecular biology · 2024Review
- EXPANSIN15 is involved in flower and fruit development in Arabidopsis.Plant reproduction · 2024Article
- Expansin SlExp1 and endoglucanase SlCel2 synergistically promote fruit softening and cell wall disassembly in tomato.The Plant cell · 2024Article
- Identification and expression analysis of expansin gene family in Salvia miltiorrhiza.Chinese medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Comparative physiological, metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal the mechanisms of differences in pear fruit quality between distinct training systems.BMC plant biology · 2024Article
- Genome-wide identification of the expansin gene family in netted melon and their transcriptional responses to fruit peel cracking.Frontiers in plant science · 2024Article
- Unraveling cell wall polysaccharides during blueberry ripening: insights into the roles of rhamnogalacturonan-I and arabinogalactan proteins in fruit firmness.Frontiers in plant science · 2024Article
- Berry texture QTL and candidate gene analysis in grape (Horticulture research · 2023Article
- Comparative Physiological and Transcriptome Analyses Reveal Mechanisms of Salicylic-Acid-Reduced Postharvest Ripening in 'Hosui' Pears (Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
72 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The role of the ripening-specific expansin Exp1 protein in fruit softening and cell wall metabolism was investigated by suppression and overexpression of Exp1 in transgenic tomato plants. Fruit in which Exp1 protein accumulation was suppressed to 3% that of wild-type levels were firmer than controls throughout ripening. Suppression of Exp1 protein also substantially inhibited polyuronide depolymerization late in ripening but did not prevent the breakdown of structurally important hemicelluloses, a major contributor to softening. In contrast, fruit overexpressing high levels of recombinant Exp1 protein were much softer than controls, even in mature green fruit before ripening commenced. This softening was correlated with the precocious and extensive depolymerization of structural hemicelluloses, whereas polyuronide depolymerization was not altered. These data are consistent with there being at least three components to fruit softening and textural changes. One component is a relaxation of the wall directly mediated by Exp1, which indirectly limits part of a second component due to polyuronide depolymerization late in ripening, perhaps by controlling access of a pectinase to its substrate. The third component is caused by depolymerization of hemicelluloses, which occurs independently of or requires only very small amounts of Exp1 protein.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.