[EN] The genetic mechanisms underlying fruit development have been identified in Arabidopsis and have been comparatively studied in tomato as a representative of fleshy fruits. However, comparative expression and functional analyses on the bHLH genes downstream the genetic network, ALCATRAZ (ALC) and SPATULA (SPT), which are involved in the formation of the dehiscence zone in Arabidopsis, have not been functionally studied in the Solanaceae. Here, we perform detailed expression and functional studies of ALC/SPT homologs in Nicotiana obtusifolia with capsules, and in Capsicum annuum and Solanum lycopersicum with berries. In Solanaceae, ALC and SPT genes are expressed in leaves, and all floral organs, especially in petal margins, stamens and carpels; however, their expression changes during fruit maturation according to the fruit type. Functional analyses show that downregulation of ALC/SPT genes does not have an effect on gynoecium patterning; however, they have acquired opposite roles in petal expansion and have been co-opted in leaf pigmentation in Solanaceae. In addition, ALC/SPT genes repress lignification in time and space during fruit development in Solanaceae. Altogether, some roles of ALC and SPT genes are different between Brassicaceae and Solanaceae; while the paralogs have undergone some subfunctionalization in the former they are mostly redundant in the latter., This work was funded by COLCIENCIAS (111565842812), the iCOOP + 2016 COOPB20250 from the Centro Superior de Investigación Científica, CSIC, the ExpoSeed (H2020.MSCA-RISE-2015-691109) EU grant, the Convocatoria Programáticas 2017-16302, and the Estrategia de Sostenibilidad 2018-2019, from the Universidad de Antioquia. The authors would like to thank the group members of the Ferrándiz and Madueño Labs at IBMCP-UPV for training and help in the standardization of in situ hybridization. Finally, the authors thank Ricardo Callejas and Zulma Monsalve, from the Universidad de Antioquia, for their helpful suggestions during this research.