Molecular cloning, characterizing, and expression analysis of CTR1 genes in harvested papaya fruit

Fruit softening is an ethylene-dependent ripening event. 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), a synthetic plant growth regulator structurally related to the natural plant hormone ethylene, is used to slow down the fruit ripening. However, inappropriate 1-MCP treatment tends to cause the elastic texture in papaya fruit. Constitutive triple response 1 (CTR1), a downstream protein of the ethylene receptors, acts as a negative regulator of ethylene signaling. To elucidate the signal transduction pathway involved in the ethylene regulation during papaya ripening and softening, four genes homologous to Arabidopsis CTR1 were isolated from papaya fruit and designated as CpCTR1-4. Their molecular and biochemical properties were characterized, and their expression patterns in papaya fruit after treatments with 1-MCP were investigated. Four CTR1-like genes differ in sequence length and molecular size, and have a relative distance relationship in the evolutionary tree analysis. However, sequences analysis showed that the C-terminus of CpCTR1-4 proteins contained the highly conserved kinase domains, including a protein kinase ATP-binding signature (IGAGSFGTVH) and a serine/threonine protein kinase active site signature (IVHRDLKSPNLLV). Their N-terminus contains the conserved motifs (CN box) that exist in all CTR1-like proteins. CpCTR1-4 proteins were predicted to be located differently in either chloroplast or nuclei or both. Gene expression analysis showed that 1-MCP treatment significantly repressed the expression of CpCTRs and high concentration of 1-MCP treatment had a more significant effect. These results suggested that CpCTR1-4 genes may play different roles in papaya fruit ripening and softening and that the rubbery fruit might be relate to the expression of CpCTRs genes.