The banana (Musa spp.) peel undergoes rapid softening during ripening, leading to finger drop and a shortened shelf life. The regulatory mechanism behind this process remains to be elucidated. In this study, we confirmed the role of peel softening in banana finger drop and uncovered the underlying transcriptional regulatory network. Cell wall-related (CWR) genes were substantially upregulated in both the peel and finger drop zone during ethylene-induced ripening.

 

Transcriptome analysis and genome-wide profiling of chromatin accessibility and transcription factor (TF) binding revealed that two key regulators of fruit ripening, Musa acuminata NAC-like, Activated by apetala3/Pistillata1 (MaNAP1) and MaMADS1, regulate CWR genes by directly binding to their promoters or by targeting other ripening-related TFs to form a hierarchical regulatory network. Notably, MaNAP1 and MaMADS1 were directly targeted by ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE3 (MaEIN3), and MaNAP1 and MaMADS1 associated with tissue-specific histone modifications, enabling them to integrate MaEIN3-mediated ethylene signaling and undergo epigenetic regulation.