Hormonal alternations in tomato mutant ovate (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv Micro-Tom) and their impact on morphology, fruit quality, productivity and parthenocarpy

• Grant number: 12/06297-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: June 01, 2012
• End date: July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Pant Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Lázaro Eustaquio Pereira Peres
• Grantee: João Pedro Bernardes Faria
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Fruit set is an important process in sexual reproduction of flowering plants that depends on pollination and fertilization of the flower. It is characterized by changes in levels of auxin and gibberellin, two important plant hormones involved in various steps of plant development. The fruit set without the occurrence of pollination and fertilization is a phenomenon known as parthenocarpy. The parthenocarpy has practical interest, since it makes the process of fruiting independent of detrimental environmental factors, forming fruits without seeds, which facilitates the industrial processes and also increases the acceptance of fresh fruits by consumers. The aim of this work is to studie mutations that cause changes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit shape, being possibly linked to changes in the levels of auxin and gibberellin. Thus, mutations that present elongated fruits, named sun, ovate, and fs8.1 will be characterized regarding their parthenocarpy. New alleles of the parthenocarpic mutants procera (pro) and entire (e), which affect the signal transduction of the hormones gibberellin and auxin, respectively. Will be searched through crossing with wild species. New parthenocarpic mutants will be obtained through the mutagenesis of a male sterile material, which do not self pollinate and set fruits. The obtained parthenocarpic materials will be characterized for changes in GA and auxin using double mutants analysis with transgenic plants (DR5::GUS) and mutations affecting hormones (pro, gib3, e and dgt).

Academic Publications

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

FARIA, João Pedro Bernardes. Hormonal alternations in tomato mutant ovate (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv Micro-Tom) and their impact on morphology, fruit quality, productivity and parthenocarpy. 2014. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC) Piracicaba.