Applications of virus-induced gene silencing for identification of gene function in fruit

With the development of bioinformatics,it is easy to obtain information and data about thousands of genes,but the determi nation of the functions of these genes depends on methods for rapid and effective functi on al identification.Virus-induced gene sile ncing(VIGS)is a mature method of gene functional identification developed over the last 20 years,which has been widely used in many research fields involving many species.Fruit quality formation is a complex biological process,which is closely related to ripening.Here,we review the progress and contribution of VIGS to our understanding of fruit biology and its advantages and disadvantages in determining gene function.