Unraveling the Hormonal and Molecular Mechanisms Shaping Fruit Morphology in Plants

The importance of fruit shape studies extends beyond fundamental plant biology, as it holds significant implications for breeding. Understanding the genetic and hormonal regulation of fruit morphology can facilitate targeted breeding strategies to enhance yield, quality, and stress resistance, ultim...

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Main Authors: Muhammad Rafiq, Min Guo, Amna Shoaib, Jiaxin Yang, Siqing Fan, Haijing Xiao, Kai Chen, Zhaoqi Xie, Chunsong Cheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Plants
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/6/974
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author Muhammad Rafiq
Min Guo
Amna Shoaib
Jiaxin Yang
Siqing Fan
Haijing Xiao
Kai Chen
Zhaoqi Xie
Chunsong Cheng
author_facet Muhammad Rafiq
Min Guo
Amna Shoaib
Jiaxin Yang
Siqing Fan
Haijing Xiao
Kai Chen
Zhaoqi Xie
Chunsong Cheng
author_sort Muhammad Rafiq
collection DOAJ
description The importance of fruit shape studies extends beyond fundamental plant biology, as it holds significant implications for breeding. Understanding the genetic and hormonal regulation of fruit morphology can facilitate targeted breeding strategies to enhance yield, quality, and stress resistance, ultimately contributing to sustainable farming and nutrition security. The diversity in fruit shapes is the result of complex hormone regulation and molecular pathways that affect key traits, including carpel number, fruit length, and weight. Fruit shape is a quality attribute that directly influences consumer preference, marketability and the ease of post-harvest processing. This article focuses on investigations carried out on molecular, genetic and hormonal regulation mechanisms of fruit shape, color, maturation in fruit plants and key genetic pathways such as CLV-WUS and OVATE, as well as their roles in shaping non-climacteric fruits such as strawberries, grapes and raspberries. Plant hormones, especially abscisic acid (ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), play a crucial role in enhancing desirable traits such as color and taste, while regulating anthocyanin synthesis and growth time. In addition, the dynamic interactions between auxin, gibberellin, and ethylene are crucial for the ripening process. Jasmonate enhances stress response, brassinosteroids promote ripening and cytokinins promote early fruit development. In addition, this review also studied the fruit morphology of species such as tomatoes and cucumbers, emphasizing the importance of the CLV-WUS pathway, which regulates the number of carpels through genes such as WUSCHEL (WUS), FRUITFULL1 (FUL1), and auxin response factor 14 (ARF14). The weight of fresh fruit is affected by microRNAs such as miRNA156, which emphasizes the importance of post transcriptional regulation. The involvement of transcription factors such as SISHN1, CaOvate, and CISUN25-26-27a further emphasizes the complexity of hormone regulation. Understanding these regulatory mechanisms can enhance our understanding of fruit development and have a profound impact on agricultural practices and crop improvement strategies aimed at meeting the growing global demand for high-quality agricultural products.
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publishDate 2025-03-01
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spelling doaj-art-cf257d069f094f5197b94e5c8fa50cbe2025-08-20T03:43:10ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-03-0114697410.3390/plants14060974Unraveling the Hormonal and Molecular Mechanisms Shaping Fruit Morphology in PlantsMuhammad Rafiq0Min Guo1Amna Shoaib2Jiaxin Yang3Siqing Fan4Haijing Xiao5Kai Chen6Zhaoqi Xie7Chunsong Cheng8Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaDepartment of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, PakistanJiangxi Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaThe importance of fruit shape studies extends beyond fundamental plant biology, as it holds significant implications for breeding. Understanding the genetic and hormonal regulation of fruit morphology can facilitate targeted breeding strategies to enhance yield, quality, and stress resistance, ultimately contributing to sustainable farming and nutrition security. The diversity in fruit shapes is the result of complex hormone regulation and molecular pathways that affect key traits, including carpel number, fruit length, and weight. Fruit shape is a quality attribute that directly influences consumer preference, marketability and the ease of post-harvest processing. This article focuses on investigations carried out on molecular, genetic and hormonal regulation mechanisms of fruit shape, color, maturation in fruit plants and key genetic pathways such as CLV-WUS and OVATE, as well as their roles in shaping non-climacteric fruits such as strawberries, grapes and raspberries. Plant hormones, especially abscisic acid (ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), play a crucial role in enhancing desirable traits such as color and taste, while regulating anthocyanin synthesis and growth time. In addition, the dynamic interactions between auxin, gibberellin, and ethylene are crucial for the ripening process. Jasmonate enhances stress response, brassinosteroids promote ripening and cytokinins promote early fruit development. In addition, this review also studied the fruit morphology of species such as tomatoes and cucumbers, emphasizing the importance of the CLV-WUS pathway, which regulates the number of carpels through genes such as WUSCHEL (WUS), FRUITFULL1 (FUL1), and auxin response factor 14 (ARF14). The weight of fresh fruit is affected by microRNAs such as miRNA156, which emphasizes the importance of post transcriptional regulation. The involvement of transcription factors such as SISHN1, CaOvate, and CISUN25-26-27a further emphasizes the complexity of hormone regulation. Understanding these regulatory mechanisms can enhance our understanding of fruit development and have a profound impact on agricultural practices and crop improvement strategies aimed at meeting the growing global demand for high-quality agricultural products.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/6/974fruit shapephytohormonesfruit qualitycell divisionmolecular mechanismgenetic pathways
spellingShingle Muhammad Rafiq
Min Guo
Amna Shoaib
Jiaxin Yang
Siqing Fan
Haijing Xiao
Kai Chen
Zhaoqi Xie
Chunsong Cheng
Unraveling the Hormonal and Molecular Mechanisms Shaping Fruit Morphology in Plants
Plants
fruit shape
phytohormones
fruit quality
cell division
molecular mechanism
genetic pathways
title Unraveling the Hormonal and Molecular Mechanisms Shaping Fruit Morphology in Plants
title_full Unraveling the Hormonal and Molecular Mechanisms Shaping Fruit Morphology in Plants
title_fullStr Unraveling the Hormonal and Molecular Mechanisms Shaping Fruit Morphology in Plants
title_full_unstemmed Unraveling the Hormonal and Molecular Mechanisms Shaping Fruit Morphology in Plants
title_short Unraveling the Hormonal and Molecular Mechanisms Shaping Fruit Morphology in Plants
title_sort unraveling the hormonal and molecular mechanisms shaping fruit morphology in plants
topic fruit shape
phytohormones
fruit quality
cell division
molecular mechanism
genetic pathways
url https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/6/974
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