It is well known that if a fruit is harvested extremely early its development and function are interrupted, and it may never attain full maturity and optimal quality. Reports revealing insights regarding the alterations of maturation, ripening and postharvest quality in very early picked fruits are rare. We examined the effects of early harvesting on tomatoes by characterizing different accessions at the molecular, physiological, and biochemical levels. We found that even very early–harvested fruits could achieve postharvest maturation and ripening though with some defects in pigment and cuticle formation, and seeds from very early–harvested fruits could still germinate and develop as normal and healthy plants. One critical regulator of tomato cuticle integrity, SlCER1–2, was shown to contribute to cuticle defects in very early–harvested fruits. Very early fruit harvest still allowing ripening and seed development indicate that the genetic and physiological programs of later maturation and ripening are set into motion early in fruit development and are not dependent on complete fruit expansion nor attachment to the plant.

中文翻译：

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极早收获西红柿的果实成熟和采后变化


众所周知，如果水果在极早的时候收获，它的发育和功能就会中断，它可能永远不会达到完全成熟和最佳品质。揭示早期采摘水果成熟、成熟和采后品质变化的见解的报告很少见。我们通过在分子、生理和生化水平上表征不同的种质来研究早期收获对西红柿的影响。我们发现，即使是非常早收获的水果也可以实现收获后的成熟和成熟，尽管在色素和角质层形成方面存在一些缺陷，并且来自非常早收获的水果的种子仍然可以发芽并发育为正常和健康的植物。番茄角质层完整性的一个关键调节因子 SlCER1-2 被证明会导致非常早期收获的水果的角质层缺陷。非常早的果实收获仍然允许成熟和种子发育，这表明后期成熟和成熟的遗传和生理程序在果实发育的早期就开始了，不依赖于果实的完全膨胀或对植物的附着。