Regulation of invertase and sucrose for improving tomato fruit flavor: A review

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a commercially farmed vegetable belonging to the Solanaceae family, the third most important vegetable after potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and onion (Allium cepa L.). It is cultivated for its fresh fruits and processed paste, with over 153 million metric tons of global production. However, modern tomato cultivars have limited sugars, acids, and volatiles allelic diversity as flavor has generally been less prioritized in breeding programs. Invertase is an essential regulator of flavor and sugar metabolism in tomato. Genetic control of tomato flavor is still incomplete without a clearer understanding of the roles of invertase and sucrose metabolism. This review provides an overview of our current understanding of invertase mode of action in sucrose metabolism, their evolutionary and functional divergence in the tomato genome, role in stress response, genetic and hormonal control of fruit flavor and quality. We summarized the primary roles of invertase in sugar metabolism and fruit flavor.