ARS | Publication request: Comparing alleles between wild and domesticated tomato

Submitted to: Plant Genome Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: November 15, 2010
Publication Date: January 13, 2010
Citation: Baldo, A.M., Robertson, L.D., Labate, J.A. 2010. Comparing alleles between wild and domesticated tomato. Plant Genome Conference Proceedings.

Technical Abstract: At the USDA, ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU), we conserve approximately 6,000 accessions of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and several hundred accessions of wild tomato species. Characterizing alleles in our collection will aid breeders and other researchers in using the germplasm. Domesticated tomato contains introgressions from multiple wild relatives. We examine seven hypothetical introgressed alleles observed in domesticated tomatoes. These alleles are predicted to code for proteins such as: tasselseed-2, auxin and ethylene crosstalk marker, succinic semialdehyde reductase, 60-S ribosomal protein, glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, and a transcription initiation factor. We sequenced seven gene fragments in a diverse set of S. lycopersicum accessions and five wild tomato species. Several of the wild species accessions were used historically as sources of alleles for crop improvement. Although the original wild species allele for each of these was not found in this study, we have been able to characterize the genetic distances among species alleles. Understanding the genetic diversity in wild species can help us interpret patterns of diversity in domesticated tomato.