芳香物质是果实重要特征品质指标，已成为发育与品质研究新主题。柑橘是我国重要果树种类，其果实芳香浓郁。我们前期对不同种类、品种、生长发育阶段柑橘果实开展了芳香物质组分的研究，发现柑橘果实主要芳香物质是萜类物质，它们的形成与转变受乙烯调控，但是基于信号转导途径的果实芳香物质形成的调控机制尚不清楚；转录因子ERFs可直接调控目标基因表达，是实现乙烯生物学效应的关键元件，因此它也是开展果实芳香物质形成机制的重要调控位点。本申请项目以不同发育阶段的柑橘果实为材料，围绕果实生长发育过程中芳香物质合成的分子调控机制，应用色谱化学、生理生化和分子生物学等技术手段，明确乙烯对生长发育果实特征芳香物质形成的调控效应，鉴别参与特征芳香物质代谢调控的ERFs基因家族成员，阐明ERFs与萜类合成酶的互作模式并验证其功能，进而阐明芳香品质形成的乙烯转录调控机制，为改善果实品质提供依据。

Aroma is an important characteristic of fruit quality. Fruit growth and development are accompanied with formation, conversion and accumulation of aroma compounds. Citrus has strong aroma and it is a major fruit in China. Previous studies showed that terpenes were the major aroma volatiles in citrus, despite fruit species, cultivars, or fruit maturity, and their biosynthesis was regulated by plant phytohormone ethylene. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms of ethylene signal transduction on fruit aroma were rarely investigated. Ethylene response factors (ERFs) interact with target genes directly and are important elements to fulfill the biological function of ethylene. Therefore, transcriptional regulation of ERF will be an important breach in understanding aroma formations in citrus fruit. By using citrus fruit at different developmental stages as materials, the present project will focus on transcriptional regulation of ERF in formation of aroma compounds in citrus fruit. Combined technologies, including chromatography, physiology and biochemistry, molecular biology will be utilized to investigate the regulatory effect of ethylene on aroma formation and to identify key ERF gene(s) and terpene synthase genes (TPSs) involved in aroma formation. Further regulation mechanism of interaction between ERF(s) and TPS(s) will confirmed by transient assay and transgenic study. The results of present project will provide new insight in transcriptional regulatory of aroma formation in citrus fruit and provide new scientific evidence for improving fruit aroma quality.