The plant hormone ethylene, known as the fruit ripening hormone, plays a role in several physiological processes and is involved in the regulation of gene expression. The partial cDNA clone ER49 was previously isolated by Differential Display screening. Full-length sequence analysis has confirmed significant homologies with TS protein synthesis elongation factors. These proteins are responsible for GDP exchange in the EF-Tu•GDP complex which is necessary for aminoacyl-RNAt binding to ribosome. Peptidic sequence prediction allowed the detection of a mitochondrial targeting signal and TS-N and EF-Ts domains. The modeling of tertiary protein structure has shown that ER49 could interact with EF-Tu•GDP and promote GTP exchange. Expression patterns during tomato fruit ripening (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), var. Micro-Tom were obtained by RT-PCR, showing that ER49 is up-regulated in the last stages of fruit ripening. Southern analysis suggested that ER49 is encoded by a multigene family of 2-3 elements. Study of this gene has opened new perspective on the understanding of post transcriptional gene regulation by ethylene and its relationship with the respiratory metabolism.
climacteric fruits; EF-Ts; ethylene; Lycopersicon esculentum; post-transcriptional regulation; ripening
