Regulation of the vegetative-to-reproductive balance through the semi-determinate ...
| Grant number: | 16/05566-0 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | June 01, 2017 |
| Effective date (End): | July 31, 2018 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Botany |
| Cooperation agreement: | Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) |
| Principal Investigator: | Lázaro Eustaquio Pereira Peres |
| Grantee: | Mateus Henrique Vicente |
| Home Institution: | Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil |
| Associated research grant: | 15/50220-2 - Enhancing salt tolerance in tomato crops for advancing sustainable agriculture and food production, AP.TEM |
Abstract The substantial increase in productivity during the Green Revolution can be attributed to several factors, but the change in partition biomass between vegetative and reproductive organs was the major genetic determinant. However, this physiological interpretation of the genetic components of productivity is still little explored in plant breeding. It was previously shown in our lab that tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) genotypes exhibiting semi-determinate growth habit present significant increases in yield and water use efficiency (WUE). Therefore, our working hypothesis is that allelic variations in genes controlling growth habit are actually a way to get a better vegetative-reproductive balance, similar to the conversion of the overly vegetative wheat and rice genotypes into high yield semi-dwarf cultivars during the Green Revolution. In the present study, this hypothesis will be tested by producing tomato (cv. Micro-Tom) near-isogenic lines (NILs) with alterations in the vegetative-reproductive balance through introgression of allelic variations that control not only the growth habit, but also the internode length and the number of leaves per sympodial unit. The performance of the genotypes will be evaluated through quantitative (organ biomass) and qualitative (brix, total acidity and carotenoid content) parameters. WUE will be evaluated both gravimetrically and through carbon isotope discrimination. It will also be assessed the impact of the allelic variations on the performance of plants under drought and saline conditions. The present work integrates basic knowledge of plant physiology and genetics with practical applications, which may generate conceptual gains applicable not only to the tomato, but to other important crops. (AU) | |