Horticulture Research

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Article|16 Dec 2024|OPEN

MaEIL4-MaMADS36-MaACS7 module transcriptionally regulates ethylene biosynthesis during banana fruit ripening

Maoni Fu^1,2,3 ^,† , Yunke Zheng¹ ^,† , Jing Zhang^1,2 ^,† , Chengju Deng⁴ ^,† , Jianbin Zhang^1,2 , Caihong Jia² , HongXia Miao^1,2 and Jingyi Wang^1,2 , Sijun Zheng⁵ , Zhiqiang Jin¹ , Xinguo Li³ ^, , Jianghui Xie¹ ^, , Juhua Liu,^1,2 ^,

¹Banana Genetic Improvement Department, National Key Laboratory of Tropical Crop Breeding, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology & Sanya Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, 4 Xueyuan Road, 571101 Haikou, China
²Hainan Key Laboratory for Protection and Utilization of Tropical Bioresources, Hainan Institute for Tropical Agricultural Resources, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, 4 Xueyuan Road, 571101 Haikou, China
³School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, 58 Renmin Road, 570228 Haikou, China
⁴Honghe Tropical Agriculture Institute of Yunnan, 661300 Hekou, China
⁵Agricultural Environment and Resources Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Bioversity International, 2238 Beijing Road, 650205 Kunming, China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: 990895@hainanu.edu.cn,xiejianghui@itbb.org.cn,liujuhua@itbb.org.cn
^†Maoni Fu and Yunke Zheng,Jing Zhang,Chengju Deng contributed equally to the study.

Horticulture Research 12,
Article number: uhae345 (2025)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae345
Views: 2116

Received: 23 Sep 2024
Accepted: 05 Dec 2024
Published online: 16 Dec 2024

Abstract

The present research examined the regulatory function of MaEIL4 in the ripening process of banana. The findings demonstrated that MaEIL4 is a transcription factor with activity in the nucleus. The transient modulation of MaEIL4 expression in banana fruit slices has been found to exert a significant impact on maturation, either enhancing or inhibiting its progression, as shown by phenotype and endogenous gene expression. MaEIL4, MaMADS36, and MaACS7 were coexpressed in bananas. MaEIL4 interacted with both the MaMADS36 protein and the TGAA box of the MaMADS36 promoter to activate its expression. Moreover, MaMADS36 bound to the C(A/T)rG box of the MaACS7 promoter to regulate fruit ripening. The results have characterized the mechanism of MaMADS36’s response to upstream ethylene signals and established a new module, MaEIL4-MaMADS36-MaACS7, which transcriptionally regulates banana fruit ripening. This research has enhanced our comprehension of the pivotal function of MaMADS36 in controlling fruit maturation and thus suggests new strategies for fruit shelf life improvement and postharvest loss reduction.