Detailing Gene Regulation Mechanisms for Agronomic Quality Traits in Fruit Crops

Plant breeding has contributed to the sustainability of crop production since antiquity and is expected to play an increasingly important role in the future, particularly given the potential of next-generation breeding technologies (NBTs). The expansion of fruit crop genetic resources over the last few decades has provided many valuable tools to study and describe the complexity of the molecular events occurring during fruit ripening and underlying specific traits that are particularly desirable for both breeders and consumers. While putative master regulators have been identified across diverse species, only a subset has been functionally characterized. Moreover, in contrast to protein-coding variation, our understanding of cis-regulatory and epigenetic mechanisms shaping gene expression and trait variation remains limited.This Research Topic aims to gather contributions dissecting the regulatory mechanisms controlling the expression of those genes, detailing the agronomic quality traits in fruit crops. Even more challenging for the authors is the possibility of proposing and validating gene regulatory networks (GRNs) by deciphering their members and the involved mechanisms. Investigating whether and how these mechanisms are conserved among different species could also be of interest to this Research topic. By applying NBTs to target gene regulatory regions, it would be possible to generate a quantitative allelic series that modulate phenotypes in a tunable manner by varying the level and/or pattern of gene expression. This topic is therefore timely and significant in both scientific and agricultural contexts, with direct relevance to crop improvement, resilience, and sustainable production.We encourage original research, methods, reviews, and perspectives that advance mechanistic understanding and/or translational application of regulatory genomics in fruit crops. Submissions may address (but are not limited to) regulatory mechanisms underlying:i) plant yieldingii) fruit ripening and over-ripening processes iii) abiotic/biotic stress responsesiv) seed formation and development v) secondary metabolites biosynthesis and accumulationvi) postharvest traits and shelf life.In this perspective, researchers and experts from relevant disciplines are invited to submit papers addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Strategies for screening and validating transcriptional end epigenetic regulation. • Model proposal for regulatory networks and validation of transcriptional and protein interactions. • Omics approaches to study gene expression modulation. • Exploration of practical implications of understanding gene regulation mechanisms for agricultural practices and the fruit industry. Topic editors: Alessandra Amato, Stefania Savoi Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/64935/detailing-gene-regulation-mechanisms-for-agronomic-quality-traits-in-fruit-crops