Fibrillin influence on plastid ultrastructure and pigment content in tomato fruit

Over-expression of fibrillin, a protein implicated in carotenoid storage within fibrillar lipoprotein structures in pepper chromoplasts, induces an increase in carotenoids and their derived volatiles in tomato fruit chromoplasts. However, no chromoplast fibrils, as potential deposition structures, were observed. The most striking ultrastructural changes were plastoglobule clustering and transient formation of plastids with distinct chloroplast and chromoplast zones.