Fruit transcriptome profiling of two tomato genotypes with different antioxidant content

The RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technique was used to analyze the trascriptomic changes during fruit ripening in two different cultivars (E1 and E115) characterized by a different content of antioxidants in the fruits. A number of differentially expressed genes were identified that were related to ascorbate and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. Furthermore, transcription factors that may control antioxidant biosynthesis were identified through a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Results obtained by RNA-seq and WGCNA analyses were further confirmed by Real-time qPCR carried out at different ripening stages on ten cultivated tomato genotypes that accumulate different amount of bioactive compounds in the fruit.