Dr. Martin ErnestoTiznado Hernández received a Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology at PURDUE University in 1999 under the advise of Professor Avtar K. Handa, Ph.D. Dr. Tiznado began to work in the Research Center for Food and Development at Hermosillo, Mexico.
The paradigm that has prevailed for a long time sustains that ethylene is the first signal that initiates fruit ripening. However, in this manuscript, we present the hypothesis that a signal generated from the cuticle induces the synthesis of ethylene, and therefore, it is the initial signal that triggers the fruit-ripening phenomena. Among the experimental evidence supporting the hypothesis, we can mention that cuticle components released during the plant pathogenic attack can induce the synthesis of ethylene in plants. Also, it has been found that in fungi, a cuticle component can activate a transcription factor by phosphorylation, which induces the transcription of a gene encoding a cutinase. Besides, studies with plant tissues experiencing a high rate of cell expansion have shown that there is a careful synchronization between the demand of cuticle components and biosynthesis, which suggests that the plant cell can sense the moment in which the fruit would stop growing by cell expansion, and initiate the ripening phenomena. In this chapter, experimental evidences supporting the physiological role of the fruit cuticle in the fruit ripening phenomena will be presented and reviewed with the goal to show a possible role of the fruit cuticle in the onset of fruit ripening.
Part of the book: New Discoveries in the Ripening Processes