Identification, characterization and functional studies of genes involved in the content of fruit metabolites with nutritional and industrial interest in tomato

• Grant number: 10/50535-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: June 01, 2010
• End date: May 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Maria Magdalena Rossi
• Grantee: Maria Magdalena Rossi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Since 2006, by using a collection of Solarium pennellii introgressed lines(ILs) with S. lycopersicum background, our group works in the identification of genes that determine the content of sugars, organic acids, amino acids and vitamin E (ß-tocopherol) in tomato fruit. Bermúdez eí al. (2008) have identified and characterized 127 candidate genes putatively involved in the observed metabolic changes by cloning the alleles of both, the wild and the cultivated species. The results obtained from the Auxílio Regular FAPESP 08/50946-0 (valid until 30/06/2010) allowed to reveal four of those genes as particularly interesting candidates: a galacturonosyl transferase, a DnaJ chaperone, a lysine decarboxilase and a tocopherol transporter. In order to test the involvement of these genes on the mentioned metabolic traits, transgenic plants expressing construct for post-transcriptional gene silencing are being obtained. Thus, the present project aims to further characterize genotypically and phenotypically these plants. Moreover, the genes involved in vitamin E metabolism will be identified and cloned from S. pennellii to eventually characterize polymorphisms between wild and cultivated species. Therefore, the generated data will contribute to better understand the metabolism regulatory networks that determine the chemical composition of a fruit with nutritional and industrial importance. (AU)

Filed patent(s) as a result of this research project