ISOLATION AND INITIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CDNAS FOR MESSENGER-RNAS REGULATED DURING PEACH FRUIT-DEVELOPMENT

Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batschl cDNA libraries have been constructed from RNA isolated from immature (30 days after bloom) and ripe fruit. cDNA clones of interest have been identified by differential hybridization among the cDNAs of various peach cultivars or from several stages in fruit development. In addition, several clones were isolated by low stringency hybridizations with oligonucleotides derived from a tomato polygalacturonase cDNA sequence and a cucumber peroxidase amino acid sequence. The pattern of accumulation of the corresponding mRNAs during fruit development was examined by RNA gel-blot analyses in the commercial cultivar Suncrest. Three cDNA clones, pch201, pch307, and pch313, were related to mRNAs that accumulate during the softening stage of fruit development. cDNA clones pch103, pch205, and pch306 were related to an mRNAs that increase in abundance throughout development, with maximum levels in ripe fruit. cDNA clones pch104 and pch202 were related to mRNAs that exhibit maximum abundance in midfruit development, and clone pch108 was related to mRNA that decreases as the fruit matures. Southern analyses indicated that seven of the cDNAs are represented by only a few genes, while pch104 detects a repetitive family, and pch307 detects a small family of genes. These clones will provide the initial source of genes to manipulate and affect fruit development.