Regulation of the vegetative-to-reproductive balance through the semi-determinate growth habit in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv Micro-Tom) and its impact in the productivity and water use efficiency

• Grant number: 11/16554-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Pant Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Lázaro Eustaquio Pereira Peres
• Grantee: Mateus Henrique Vicente
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The plant growth habit is an important determinant of agronomic traits. Species with sympodial growth can present determinate, semi-determinate or indeterminate growth. In tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Syn Solanum lycopersicum L.), the growth habit is controlled by the SELF-PRUGING (SP) gene family, which is composed by six members. Among them, stands SP, whose the defective allele sp produces plant with determinate growth habit when in the homozygous form; SP9D, which the allele from S. pennellii confers semi-determinate growth when introgressed into tomato cultivars harboring the sp allele; and SINGLE FLOWER TRUSS (SFT or SP3D), whose the defective sft allele renders plants with the semi-determinate growth when in the heterozygous form and under epistatic control of the sp allele. Tomato genotypes presenting determinate growth habit are used in the processing industry (for sauces and ketchups), since they simplify cultivation (they don´t need stalking and pruning) and allows mechanic harvesting due to the uniform fruit production. However, it is known that the sp allele decreases the productivity and the fruit soluble solids contents (°Brix). It is tempting to speculate that such genotypes represent an unbalanced reproductive to vegetative development. Thus, the determinate growth habit might represent an intrinsic limitation, since it interrupts the vegetative growth, which forms sources of photoassimilates (mature leaves), and emphasizes the reproductive growth, which only forms sinks (flowers and fruits). On the other hand, plants with indeterminate growth habit have the opposite behavior, limiting the productivity through their vigorous vegetative growth, which produces not only sources but also sinks (suckers and young leaves). The hypothesis of the present work is that the semi-determinate growth represents an optimum balance between the vegetative and the reproductive development and thus an increased productivity. Further, since a better vegetative-to-reproductive balance may also means an improved balance between organs that spend water but make photoassimilates and those that almost only spend water (young leaves and new branches), the water use efficiency (WUE) of semi-determinate plants will also be considered. In order to test such hypothesis, we will characterize the vegetative-to-reproductive balance, and its impact in the productivity and WUE, using genotypes presenting three types of growth habit in a single genetic background, the cultivar Micro-Tom (MT). The relevance of the present project stands in the possibility to create a paradigm for a sustainable crop productivity (with water economy), which may be applied not only to tomato production but also be extended to other important crops that present sympodial growth habit (e.g. cotton and soybean).

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VICENTE, MATEUS HENRIQUE; ZSOEGOEN, AGUSTIN; LOPO DE SA, ARIADNE FELICIO; RIBEIRO, RAFAEL V.; PERES, LAZAR E. P.. Semi-determinate growth habit adjusts the vegetative-to-reproductive balance and increases productivity and water-use efficiency in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Journal of Plant Physiology, v. 177, p. 11-19, APR 1 2015. (11/16554-0, 13/11541-2)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

VICENTE, Mateus Henrique. Regulation of the vegetative-to-reproductive balance through the semideterminate growth habit in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv Micro-Tom) and its impact in the productivity and water use efficiency. 2013. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC) Piracicaba.