The third seminar of this new season will be presented by Jedrzej Szymanski on The Wild Metabolism of Domesticated Tomato - Dissecting the Genetic Basis of Variation in Tomato Fruit Metabolism and Pathogen Resistance
Abstract. Wild tomato species represent a rich gene pool for numerous desirable traits lost during domestication. In our study, we exploited an introgression population developed from the wild desert-adapted tomato Solanum pennellii and the domesticated cultivar Solanum lycopersicum to identify the genetic basis of fruit transcript and metabolic variation accompanying wild species’ trait transfer. RNA-seq expression profiling and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics of 580 introgression lines resulted in the identification of genetic loci significantly associated with levels of hundreds of transcripts and metabolites. These associations occurred in functionally coherent hotspots that represent coordinated perturbation of metabolic pathways and ripening-related processes. Integration of these results with quantitative phenotype data highlighted a network of gene-transcript-metabolite-phenotype relationships involved in the emergence of fruit quality traits. This has been exemplified by identification of flavonoid metabolites and transcripts that constitute fruit resistance to Botrytis cinerea, and by determining specific ripening regulatory elements that promote the emergence of that trait. The approach also successfully highlighted new enzymes of the specialized metabolism responsible for changes in the nutritional and defense properties of tomato fruit. Two of these, catalyzing key steps of the steroidal glycoalkaloid biosynthetic pathway, were validated here experimentally.
When? Thursday 5th Aug 4 pm (GMT+1)
The zoom link to join the meeting is https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/94333146166 Meeting ID: 943 3314 6166, password: Solanaceae
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