Transcriptional regulation of tomato fruit quality

Tomato serves as the model plant for studying fruit ripening and quality formation including pigment, texture, flavor, aroma and nutrition. The ripening of tomato fruit results from the selective expression of ripening-related genes, which are strictly regulated by transcription factors (TFs), such as RIPENING INHIBITOR (RIN), NON-RIPENING (NOR) and COLORLESS NON-RIPENING (CNR). Understanding the transcriptional network has important biological significance for the fruit ripening regulation, which can help improve fruit quality and commodity value, and improve the utilization of agricultural resources. The molecular mechanism of TF control, a redundant regulatory network, has been extensively studied thanks to advancements in scientific research technologies. Here, we focus on the synergistic or antagonistic regulation of TFs in tomato fruit ripening, including the relationship between TFs and the regulatory patterns of ripening-related target genes, which is supported by sufficient evidence.