Transcriptome profiling of fruit of cultivated and wild tomatoes

Experiment description: Genetic variability for components of tomato fruit quality within the cultivated tomato species is limited, due to its history of domestication and diversification. The potential of wild relatives of Solanum to expand this limited genetic variability has been exploited for introgressing biotic stress resistance into cultivated tomato. Counterintuitively, genetic variability present in unpalatable wild species can also contribute to the improvement of fruit quality in the cultivated tomato. A database of genetic variability for level of expression and sequence polymorphism of fruit-expressed genes is therefore a valuable resource. We present extensive transcriptomic data from developing and ripe fruit of Solanum representing the primitive green-fruited species S. pennellii, S. chmielewskii, S. habrochaites and S. peruvianum, as well as the colored-fruited species, S. lycopersicum, S. pimpinellifolium, S. galapagense and S. cheesmaniae. The cross-species analysis points to genes and pathways modified during evolution. Significantly, the phylogenetic relationships based on sequence polymorphisms clearly mirrored the hierarchical relationships based on the gene expression patterns. The analyses of the data presented here illustrates its potential to enlighten our understanding of the evolution of tomato fruit development and quality.

Author: Arthur A. Schaffer

Contact: Arthur A. Schaffer ([email protected]), Plant Sciences Institute, Agricultural Research Organization-Volcani Center

External link: Publication