All-flesh fruit in tomato is controlled by reduced expression dosage of AFF through a structural variant mutation in the promoter. (7th September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Lei; Zhang, Kang; Bai, Jinrui; Lu, Jinghua; Lu, Xiaoxiao; Hu, Junling; Pan, Chunyang; He, Shumin; Yuan, Jiale; Zhang, Yiyue; Zhang, Min; Guo, Yanmei; Wang, Xiaoxuan; Huang, Zejun; Du, Yongchen; Cheng, Feng; Li, Junming
• Editors: Costa, Fabrizio
• Is Part Of: Journal of experimental botany. Volume 73:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 123
• Page End: 138
• Publication Date: 2021-09-07
• Subjects: All-flesh fruit -- cis-regulatory mutation -- dosage effect -- locule gel -- processing tomato -- Solanum lycopersicum -- structural variant; Botany -- Periodicals; Botany, Experimental -- Periodicals; Plant physiology -- Periodicals; 580
• DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab401
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-0957

Abstract

Abstract: The formation of locule gel is an important process in tomato and is a typical characteristic of berry fruit. In this study, we examined a natural tomato mutant that produces all-flesh fruit (AFF) in which the locule tissue remains in a solid state during fruit development. We constructed different genetic populations to fine-map the causal gene for this trait and identified SlMBP3 as the locus conferring the locule gel formation, which we rename as AFF . We determined the causal mutation as a 416-bp deletion in the promoter region of AFF, which reduces its expression dosage. Generally, this sequence is highly conserved among Solanaceae, as well as within the tomato germplasm. Using BC6 near-isogenic lines, we determined that the reduced expression dosage of AFF did not affect the normal development of seeds, whilst producing unique, non-liquefied locule tissue that was distinct from that of normal tomatoes in terms of metabolic components. Combined analysis using mRNA-seq and metabolomics indicated the importance of AFF in locule tissue liquefaction. Our findings provide insights into fruit-type differentiation in Solanaceae crops and also present the basis for future applications of AFF in tomato breeding programs. Abstract : All-flesh fruit in tomato is controlled by a sequence deletion in the cis -regulatory region of the promoter of AFF that results in reduced expression dosage and the production of non-liquefied locule tissue.