The production of fruit is a vital process for plants because it enables them to reproduce and thrive. In tomato, the fruit ripening process involves dramatic changes in tiny “organelles” inside the fruit cells called plastids. In spite of their central importance in delivering fruit colour, surprisingly little was known about how plastids participate in the ripening process. The new finding reveals an important regulatory or controlling role for plastids in the fruit ripening process in tomato. Watch this related video:">Video of Changing plant chloroplasts to improve crop performanceRead the full paper, 'The chloroplast-associated protein degradation pathway controls chromoplast development and fruit ripening in tomato' in Nature Plants.
