Unravelling the regulatory network of transcription factors in parthenocarpy

•Role of functional genes such as DELLA, pat, KO2, AUCSIA and CHS in hormone mediated Parthenocarpy.•Hormonal crosstalk that occurs between Auxin/GA/Cytokinin/ABA/Ethylene through TFs•MADS box genes as key regulators of parthenocarpy.•Proposed a putative model on hormone mediated TFs network involved in regulating parthenocarpic fruit development. Parthenocarpy is one of the most preferred plant traits, among the farmers and consumers as it enhances the quality and shelf-life of the fruits. Hormones like auxin, gibberellin (GA) and cytokinin either individually or in combination are known to induce parthenocarpy. Limitations in artificial parthenocarpy necessitates the need for understanding the underlying mechanism which is elusive. Exploring key genes in parthenocarpy are essential prerequisites to develop parthenocarpic fruit in any seeded crops through genetic manipulation. Many functional and regulatory genes have been identified from the available transcriptome data and transgenic studies of both seeded and parthenocarpic fruit development. Compared to functional genes, regulatory genes i.e. Transcription factors (TFs) could be the potential candidate genes, since fine tuning the expression of single TFs may possibly overcome the limitations in artificial parthenocarpy. But understanding the mechanism and expression of TFs under the influence of various hormones is still unclear. Hence this review is aimed to unravel the knowledge of key transcription factors involved in the complex regulatory network of parthenocarpy. Simplified model on TFs and their hormone-mediated regulation in parthenocarpic fruit set has been proposed in this review. This may lead to the identification of target TFs to be used in engineering seedless traits to enhance the fruit quality and yield in crop plants.