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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #334117

Title: Prospects: the tomato genome as a cornerstone for gene discovery

Author
item Giovannoni, James

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/19/2016
Publication Date: 12/15/2016
Citation: Giovannoni, J.J. 2016. Prospects: the tomato genome as a cornerstone for gene discovery. In: Causse, M., Giovannoni, J., Bouzayen,M., Zouine, M., editors. Conpendium of Plant Genomes: The Tomato Genome. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. 257-259. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-53389-5_14.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-53389-5_14

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Those involved in the international tomato genome sequencing effort contributed to not only the development of an important genome sequence relevant to a major economic and nutritional crop, but also to the tomato experimental system as a model for plant biology. Without question, prior seminal work on pathogen response, fruit development and ripening, leaf morphology, root physiology, hormone biology, and light perception, combined with the practical and genetic tractability of tomato presented its genome as an obvious target for sequencing. The important fact that the sequencing project was largely driven by biologists who ultimately endeavored to utilize the genome in future research, as opposed to simply scratching another genome off the “to do” list, insured that high quality, open access (the first drafts of the genome were made public 3 years prior to publication) and ease of use were all requisite features of the genome and its enabling interface, SGN or the SOL Genomics Network ( https://solgenomics.net/). The genome sequence of tomato initially revealed biological insights into the evolution of genes with functions pertaining to fruit biology. Furthermore, comparison to the grape genome in particular, provided evidence of a genome triplication event specific to the tomato lineage. Genome sequences of additional Solanaceae species confirmed the similarities among these genomes anticipated from prior comparative mapping studies.