To ensure that the effects on delayed ripening and pathogen
susceptibility were compared at exactly the same developmental
stage, we used virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS)
to silence the expression of Del and Ros1 in purple fruit in
the MoneyMaker background (in which large fruit size allows
dissection of tissue sectors relatively easily). Agro-infiltrated
Del/Ros1 fruit showed a phenotype of purple and red sectors,
the latter defining those parts of the fruit where Del and Ros1
had been silenced [18] and hydrophilic antioxidant capacity
was reduced (Figures 2A and 2B). In older fruit, the red sectors
were clearly softer and the tissues were more collapsed than in
purple sectors, demonstrating the shorter storage life of red
sectors compared to purple sectors (Figure 2A). Red sectors
also showed greater susceptibility to B. cinerea than purple
sectors (Figure 2A).