RNA-Seq of Mangifera indica L. Mesocarp as a Tool to Identify Genes Related to Loss of Firmness

During fruit ripening, the fruit cell wall is biochemically modified by hydrolases and enzymes resulting in physiological loss of firmness. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruit losses its firmness very fast, therefore its postharvest life is very short (about 7 days). The objective of this work is to identify expressed genes in green fruit vs. ripe fruits as an effort to identify gene families involved in ripening and its regulation. Total RNA was obtained from mango fruits at two ripening stages,  four cDNA libraries were obtained and sequenced using Illumina technology and 52,948 unigenes were assembled. From these, 2,306 were expressed differentially according to ripening stage. Thus, the obtained transcriptome will allow us to identify those genes responsible for mango ripening and for the loss of their firmness.