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Abstract

The transcription factor Asr1 (ABA, stress, ripening 1) plays multiple roles in the plant responses to abiotic stresses as well as being involved in the regulation of central metabolism in several plant species. However, despite the high expression levels of ASR1 in tomato fruits, large scale analyses to uncover its role in fruits are still lacking. In order to study its function in the context of fruit ripening, we performed a multi-omics analysis of Asr1-silenced transgenic tomato fruits at transcriptomics and metabolomics levels. Our results indicate that ASR1 is involved in several pathways implicated in the fruit ripening process, including cell wall, amino acid, and carotenoid metabolism as well as abiotic stress pathways. Moreover, we found that Asr1-silenced fruits are more susceptible to the infection by the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea. A literature search suggested that Asr1 could be regulated by the fruit ripening regulators NOR, CNR and FUL1/2, among others, which allowed us to situate it in the regulatory cascade of red ripe tomato fruits. These data thus extend the known range of functions of ASR1 underlying it to be an important auxiliary regulator of tomato ripening.