During growth, the fruit surface of sweet cherry, Prunus avium, expands rapidly whilst only a relatively small amount of new cuticular material is produced, often leading to the formation of microscopic cracks in the cuticle that can reduce fruit quality. Alkio et al. perform RNA-Seq and bioinformatic analyses to identify genes expressed in the skin of developing fruit, and relate gene expression with cuticle deposition. The results suggest that downregulation of genes involved in cuticle deposition occurs early in fruit development, and a number of candidate genes are proposed for further investigation.
