MAPK cascades: key regulators of fruit quality traits
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Published on: March 20, 2016
1Department of Pomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21545, Egypt. alabd@zju.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Fruit quality is both a vital breeding goal and a consumer request. It is a sophisticated combination of several connected traits. These traits are highly regulated by various regulatory networks in which Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades make essential contributions. MAPK cascades integrate diverse external and internal cues to regulate many biological processes related to fruit quality traits. They regulate fruit quality through the phosphorylation of downstream signaling targets, including structural proteins, enzymes, and transcription factors, thereby influencing the expression of quality traits-related genes. There is emerging compelling evidence to document that MAPK cascades play important roles in regulating fruit quality traits. However, a comprehensive review highlighting the major advances of recent years is notably lacking. This review explores the diverse regulatory proteins related to fruit quality traits that are targeted by MAPK proteins. In addition, this review highlights the current understanding of the key role of MAPK cascades in regulating several important quality traits and fruit disease resistance in major fruit crops. The involvement of MAPKKK-MAPKK-MAPK cascades in crucial processes related to fruit quality traits is also discussed. Finally, this review proposes future research directions to advance the broader understanding of MAPK-mediated regulation of fruit quality traits. Integrating single-cell and multi-omics approaches could elucidate MAPK regulatory networks and identify direct downstream substrates. Precision genome-editing tools, including base and prime editing, could also target validated MAPK phosphorylation sites for targeted improvement of fruit quality. Deeper insights into MAPK functions may facilitate novel strategies to improve fruit quality and enhance agricultural sustainability.
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