Autophagy plays a dual role in chromoplast transition and degradation and is essential for fruit coloration and ripening

Guo, Ye; Bao, Zhiru; Shi, Meiyan; Zheng, Qiwei; Huo, Yawen; Hu, Ran; Guan, Yajie; Cao, Saiyu; Hussey, Patrick J.; Deng, Xiuxin; Cheng, Yunjiang; Wang, Pengwei

Abstract

The color of tomato fruits is determined by carotenoids. The process involves removing chloroplast-related components and the biogenesis of chromoplast membranes where carotenoids are stored, but how these events are coordinated is unknown. Here, we demonstrated that part of this mechanism involves macroautophagy/autophagy playing dual roles in chromoplast transition and degradation. We have used fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to show that autophagosomes containing chloroplast-derived-vesicles increased significantly during early fruit ripening, which is an essential part of a pathway to the formation of chromoplasts. Interestingly, we also showed that autophagy controls the degradation of the chromoplasts containing carotenoids at the late ripening stage through a process we named chromophagy. This affects fruit color and ABA levels, which were higher in autophagy mutants with a slower turnover of chromoplasts. We concluded that autophagy is a determinant of both fruit coloration and ripening through degrading different plastid-related cargo.

Citation

Guo, Y., Bao, Z., Shi, M., Zheng, Q., Huo, Y., Hu, R., Guan, Y., Cao, S., Hussey, P. J., Deng, X., Cheng, Y., & Wang, P. (online). Autophagy plays a dual role in chromoplast transition and degradation and is essential for fruit coloration and ripening. Autophagy, https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2025.2509330

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 16, 2025
• Online Publication Date: May 27, 2025
• Deposit Date: Apr 29, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 6, 2025
• Journal: Autophagy
• Print ISSN: 1554-8627
• Electronic ISSN: 1554-8635
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2025.2509330
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3805937