The plant hormone ethylene is regarded as the major regulator of climacteric fruit ripening but the assumptions that fleshy fruit ripening is likely driven by a complex hormonal balance have long been formulated,even though clear experimental evidence supporting this hypothesis remained elusive.Auxin is among the first to be assigned a role in the ripening of fleshy fruits based on the observed ripening delay induced by auxin treatment.We recently showed that among all members of the Auxin Response Factor(ARF)gene family in the tomato,SIARF2 displays the most remarkable ripening-associated pattern of expression,and that its down-regulation results in strong ripening defects.ARF2 emerges as a new component of the regulatory network controlling tomato ripening working along with known key regulators of fruit ripening,such as RIN,CNR and NOR.On the other hand,the regulatory mechanisms underlying ethylene action during climacteric fruit ripening are poorly understood,and in particular,the specific role of Ethylene Response Factors(ERFs)in mediating the ripening-associated ethylene responses awaits to be clearly demonstrated.Building on the new tools and genomics resources generated in the tomato,we identified a small subset of ERF genes displaying consistent ripening-associated expression pattern and showed that these ripening-related ERFs are connected to the mechanism underlying ethylene-and RIN/NOR-dependent ripening.Overall,the study provides a new insight into the mechanisms underlying the control of fleshy fruit ripening,and uncovers new avenues towards manipulating the ripening process through means that have not been described so far.