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Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Peptide-derived Method to Transport Genes and Proteins Across Cellular and Organellar Barriers in Plants
Published on: December 16, 2016
Peptides interfering with protein-protein interactions in the ethylene signaling pathway delay tomato fruit ripening
Melanie M A Bisson1, Mareike Kessenbrock1, Lena Müller1
1Biochemical Plant Physiology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, D-40204 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Abstract:
The plant hormone ethylene is involved in the regulation of several processes with high importance for agricultural applications, e.g. ripening, aging and senescence. Previous work in our group has identified a small peptide (NOP-1) derived from the nuclear localization signal of the Arabidopsis ethylene regulator ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE-2 (EIN2) C-terminal part as efficient inhibitor of ethylene responses. Here, we show that NOP-1 is also able to efficiently disrupt EIN2-ETR1 complex formation in tomato, indicating that the NOP-1 inhibition mode is conserved across plant species. Surface application of NOP-1 on green tomato fruits delays ripening similar to known inhibitors of ethylene perception (MCP) and ethylene biosynthesis (AVG). Fruits treated with NOP-1 showed similar ethylene production as untreated controls underlining that NOP-1 blocks ethylene signaling by targeting an essential interaction in this pathway, while having no effect on ethylene biosynthesis.
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