Silencing Sly-miR159 accelerated preharvest ripening and delayed postharvest senescence of tomato fruit

The miR159 is an ancient and highly conserved microRNA (miRNA), which is frequently expressed in various tissues and developmental phases, as well as participated extensively in plant growth by regulating multiple target genes. In the present study, the tomato lines of silencing-miR159 by short tandem target mimic (STTM-miR159) and overexpression-miR159 (OE-miR159) were obtained by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The results showed that the OE-miR159 caused male sterility and induced parthenocarpy by decreasing the expression level of SlMYB120. The STTM-miR159 accelerated the preharvest ripening of tomato fruit by increasing the expression level of SlACS8. The STTM-miR159 reduced the accumulation of carotenoids and delayed the postharvest senescence of tomato fruit by affecting the ethylene signaling pathway. This study expanded the cognition of function of miR159-SlACS8/SlMYB120 module in fertility traits, ripening and senescence of tomato fruit. •STTM-miR159 accelerated the preharvest ripening of tomato fruit.•STTM-miR159 delayed postharvest senescence of tomato fruit by affecting ethylene.•The accumulation of carotenoids was reduced in the STTM-miR159 fruit.•OE-miR159 caused male sterility and induced parthenocarpy.