The metabolic engineered Bronze tomato line is characterized by the constitutive over-expression of the VvStSy gene encoding a structural protein responsible for the stilbenoids biosynthesis and the fruit-specific over-expression of AmDel/Rosea1 and AtMYB12 genes encoding transcription factors that activate the polyphenol biosynthetic pathway. This tomato line is known for the increased levels of polyphenols in ripe fruits and for beneficial health promoting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study we analyzed the transcriptional and metabolic profiling in mature green, breaker, orange and ripe fruits compared to the normal tomato counterparts during ripening, to unravel the effect of regulatory and structural transgenes on metabolic fluxes of primary and secondary metabolisms. Our results showed that the shikimate synthase (SK) gene was up-regulated in the Bronze fruit, and the transcriptional activation is consistent with the metabolic changes observed throughout fruit ripening. These results paralleled with a reduced level of simple sugars and malate, highlighting the consumption of primary metabolites to favor secondary metabolites production and accumulation. Finally, carotenoids quantification revealed a change in the lycopene/β-carotene ratio in the Bronze fruit as a consequence of significant lower level of the first and higher levels of the latter. The high polyphenols and /β-carotene content displayed by the Bronze fruit at the later stages of fruit ripening renders this line an interesting model to study the additive or synergic effects of these phyto-chemicals in the prevention of human pathologies.

中文翻译：

---

设计多酚生物合成途径可刺激“青铜”番茄果实成熟过程中的代谢和分子变化

代谢工程青铜番茄品系的特征在于 VvStSy 基因的组成型过表达，该基因编码一种负责二苯乙烯类生物合成的结构蛋白，以及 AmDel/Rosea1 和 AtMYB12 基因的果实特异性过表达，这些基因编码激活多酚生物合成的转录因子。途径。这种番茄系列以成熟水果中多酚含量的增加和有益健康的抗氧化和抗炎作用而闻名。在这项研究中，我们分析了成熟的绿色、破果、橙色和成熟果实与成熟期间的正常番茄对应物相比的转录和代谢谱，以揭示调节和结构转基因对初级和次级代谢的代谢通量的影响。我们的研究结果表明，莽草酸合酶 (SK) 基因在青铜果实中上调，转录激活与果实成熟过程中观察到的代谢变化一致。这些结果与单糖和苹果酸水平的降低平行，突出了初级代谢物的消耗以有利于次级代谢物的产生和积累。最后，类胡萝卜素定量揭示了青铜果实中番茄红素/β-胡萝卜素比率的变化，这是由于第一种水平显着降低而后者水平显着升高。青铜果实在果实成熟后期表现出的高多酚和β-胡萝卜素含量使这条线成为研究这些植物化学物质在预防人类疾病方面的叠加或协同作用的有趣模型。