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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Geneva, New York » Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU) » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #281414

Title: Mining wild species elleles from introgressed genotypes

Author
item Labate, Joanne
item Robertson, Larry

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/28/2012
Publication Date: 10/21/2012
Citation: Labate, J.A., Robertson, L.D. 2012. Mining wild species elleles from introgressed genotypes. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting. Paper No. 1.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Tomato (Solanum Section Lycopersicon) is composed of one cultivated (S. lycopersicum) and 12 wild species. Because the species are closely related to each other, introgression breeding has been extensive and released cultivars have been improved for many more traits using wild alleles than has any other crop. Beneficial traits transferred into cultivars from wild species have included disease, pest or abiotic stress tolerance or resistance, ease of mechanical harvesting and fruit quality components. In addition, natural hybridization between S. lycopersicum and its closest wild relative S. pimpinellifolium has been well-documented in sympatric populations. We compared DNA sequences at 47 loci from genotypes of S. lycopersicum and wild tomato species S. pimpinellifolium, Solanum arcanum, Solanum peruvianum, Solanum pennellii and Solanum habrochaites in order to interpret origins of alleles that were apparently introgressed into S. lycopersicum. Cladograms, splits networks, genomic map positions, and historical origins of accessions were used to understand evolutionary patterns at nine of the 47 loci that showed evidence of introgression. We found that four markers were involved in linkage drag during breeding while alleles at five markers apparently originated from natural hybridization with S. pimpinellifolium. The intrinsic value of naturally introgressed germplasm has been recognized in other crops as a source of novel alleles for various traits. If horticultural effects of introgression are subtle then accessions descended from hybrids may be prime sources to screen for new alleles. We conclude that the positive identification of introgressed genes within tomato will help inform conservation and utilization of germplasm diversity. This includes both facilitating the purging of undesirable linkage drag and the exploitation of novel, favorable alleles.