WASHINGTON — Farmers can grow big, juicy tomatoes thanks to a mutation in the Cell Size Regulator gene that occurred during the tomato domestication process. Esther van der Knaap of the University of Georgia, Athens and colleagues describe this gene variant in a study published in open-access journal PLOS Genetics on August 17th, 2017.
When humans first began cultivating the wild tomato in the Andean mountain regions of Ecuador and Northern Peru, they continually selected plants that produced larger fruits. Now, thousands of years later, tomatoes on the market can weigh 1,000 times more than the fruits of their ancestors. In the current study, researchers investigated a gene they named Cell Size Regulator, or CSR, that boosts fruit weight by increasing the size of the individual cells in the pericarp, which is the fleshy part of the tomato. Compared to wild tomatoes, domesticated varieties carry a mutation in the CSR genes that shortens the resulting protein in tomato cells, and that truncation likely affects its role in regulating cell differentiation and maturation in the fruit and vascular tissues. The variation originated in the cherry tomato but now appears in all large cultivated tomato varieties.
The new study expands on previous research that had identified the location of CSR at the bottom of chromosome 11 as only a small genetic contributor to tomato weight. Now with the cloning of the gene, the finding that most cultivated tomatoes carry the shortened version of the CSR gene suggests that humans selected this genetic variation extensively and that it was critical to the full domestication of tomato from its cherry tomato ancestors.
“CSR is required to create the large tomatoes that are needed for the industry. This is because large tomatoes critically raise the profit margins for farmers. The knowledge of the gene will now open up avenues of research into how fruit size can be increased further without negatively impacting other important qualities such as disease resistance and flavor,” says Dr. van der Knaap.
—PLOS
via EurekAlert!
For more articles concerning tomatoes, click here.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
MARYSVILLE, Ohio — The 34th Ohio Beef Expo was held March 17-20 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Expo, hosted by the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA), is the premier event for Ohio’s beef industry covering many facets of the beef world with seedstock shows and sales, a trade show, a competitive junior show […]
LANSING, Mich. — Hybrid selection is one of the most important agronomic decisions a farmer makes in corn production. The purpose of the Michigan Corn Performance Trials is to evaluate corn hybrids for yield and other important agronomic characteristics. Results of these trials can assist farmers in selecting hybrids best suited to their farming operations […]
EAST LANSING, Mich. — The higher-than-normal temperatures that are predicted to occur for the rest of September will cause soybeans to dry down rapidly and moisture levels can easily drop below 10%. This increases the potential for shatter losses, higher discounts due to split beans and reduced delivery weight. When moisture levels fall below 10%, […]
MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Awards and prizes filled the stage as families gathered to commemorate an unusual year at the annual Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) BEST (Beef Exhibitor Show Total) awards banquet held on May 1 at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus. Over 350 BEST exhibitors were awarded for their show success, cattle industry knowledge, […]
MARYSVILLE, Ohio — The 33rd Ohio Beef Expo was held March 18-21 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio. This year’s Junior Show was reformatted to include only one show ring while spreading the shows out to promote social distancing. The Heifer Show was judged by Kyle Conley, Sulpher, OK and the Market Animal Show […]
