Quantification of the gene expression of bell peppers (Capsicum annuum) ripening gene(s) using real -time PCR

Fruits can be divided into two groups according to the regulatory mechanisms underlying their ripening process. The two ripening processes are climacteric and non-climacteric process; bell peppers are part of the non-climacteric plant groups. Bell peppers are members of the Solanacaea family. The Solanacaea family is best known for its fruits around the world. Today’s main focus is targeted to fruit ripening, in an attempt to increase the fruit’s shelf life. Many genes have been linked to the maturation of the fruit such as in Arabidopsis, the genes found were elongation factor-1α (LeEF-1A), expansin protein (leEXP1) and ripening inhibitor (RIN). This research focused on discovering similar genes that may play an important role in the ripening of peppers. Real-time PCR was performed on the cDNA of the green bell pepper fruit during its stage of development in order to detect and identify the expression pattern of the gene. Through the comparison of the gene expression found in bell pepper and the pods of Arabidopsis as model to dicotyledonous plant, some variations have been detected. Keywords: Bell pepper ( Capsicum annuum ), arabidopsis ( Lycoperiscum esceluntum ), fruit ripening, expansin gene (EXP1), elongation factor alpha gene (EF-1a), ripening inhibitor (RIN), MADs box, complementary DNA (cDNA), gene expression profiling, real -time PCR. African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol 13(53) 4745-4752