AUTHOR=Espinoza Analía , Contreras Rodrigo , Zúñiga Gustavo E. , Herrera Raúl , Moya-León María Alejandra , Norambuena Lorena , Handford Michael 

TITLE=FcLDP1, a Gene Encoding a Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) Domain Protein, Responds to Brassinosteroids and Abscisic Acid during the Development of Fruits in Fragaria chiloensis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2016.00788

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2016.00788

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>White Chilean strawberries (<italic>Fragaria chiloensis</italic>) are non-climacteric fruits, with an exotic color and aroma. In order to discover genes involved in the development of these fruits, we identified a fragment of a gene encoding a late embryogenesis abundant domain protein, <italic>FcLDP1</italic>, that was expressed in early stages of fruit development, particularly in receptacles. Hormones play key roles in regulating the development of non-climacteric fruits. We show that the brassinosteroid content of the white strawberry varies during development. Additionally, <italic>FcLDP1</italic> as well as the closest ortholog in the woodland strawberry, <italic>F. vesca</italic> (<italic>FvLDP1</italic>) possess multiple brassinosteroid, as well as abscisic acid (ABA) response motifs in the promoter region, consistent with the response of transiently expressed <italic>FcLDP1</italic> promoter-GFP fusions to these hormones, and the rise in <italic>FcLDP1</italic> transcript levels in white strawberry fruits treated with brassinosteroids or ABA. These findings suggest that both hormones regulate <italic>FcLDP1</italic> expression during the development of white strawberries.</p>