Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May 27;21(1):238.
doi: 10.1186/s12870-021-03029-y.

The NAC side of the fruit: tuning of fruit development and maturation

Sara Forlani  1 , Chiara Mizzotti  1 , Simona Masiero  2
Affiliations
Review

The NAC side of the fruit: tuning of fruit development and maturation

Sara Forlani et al. BMC Plant Biol. .

Abstract

Fruits and seeds resulting from fertilization of flowers, represent an incredible evolutionary advantage in angiosperms and have seen them become a critical element in our food supply.Many studies have been conducted to reveal how fruit matures while protecting growing seeds and ensuring their dispersal. As result, several transcription factors involved in fruit maturation and senescence have been isolated both in model and crop plants. These regulators modulate several cellular processes that occur during fruit ripening such as chlorophyll breakdown, tissue softening, carbohydrates and pigments accumulation.The NAC superfamily of transcription factors is known to be involved in almost all these aspects of fruit development and maturation. In this review, we summarise the current knowledge regarding NACs that modulate fruit ripening in model species (Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum) and in crops of commercial interest (Oryza sativa, Malus domestica, Fragaria genus, Citrus sinensis and Musa acuminata).

Keywords: Fruit; NAC; Ripening; Senescence; Transcription factor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
NACs play a role in numerous processes during a plant’s lifecycle, summarized in the figure using Solanum lycopersicum as representative plant. Each box represents a process, significant examples of NAC TFs involved are reported as references between brackets
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Structural domains and subdomains of NAC TFs
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Overview of the principle fruit-related processes which NAC transcription factors are involved in. Each colour represents a specific aspect of fruit ripening, and the NAC genes listed in this review are located accordingly
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lorts CM, Briggeman T, Sang T. Evolution of fruit types and seed dispersal: a phylogenetic and ecological snapshot. J Syst Evol. 2008;46:396–404.
    1. Knapp S, Litt A. Fruit-an angiosperm innovation. In: The molecular biology and biochemistry of fruit ripening. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.; 2013. p. 21–42. 10.1002/9781118593714.ch2.
    1. Knapp S. Tobacco to tomatoes: a phylogenetic perspective on fruit diversity in the Solanaceae. J Exp Bot. 2002;53:2001–2022. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erf068. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wallace TC, Bailey RL, Blumberg JB, Burton-Freeman B, Chen CO, Crowe-White KM, et al. Fruits, vegetables, and health: a comprehensive narrative, umbrella review of the science and recommendations for enhanced public policy to improve intake. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2019;60:2174–211. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2019.1632258. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mason-D’Croz D, Bogard JR, Sulser TB, Cenacchi N, Dunston S, Herrero M, et al. Gaps between fruit and vegetable production, demand, and recommended consumption at global and national levels: an integrated modelling study. Lancet Planet Health. 2019;3:e318–29. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30095-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances