In vitro tomato callogenesis and carotenoid biosynthesis

• Grant number: 23/00053-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Principal Investigator: Jean Carlos Cardoso
• Grantee: Nicolly Almeida Fiocchi
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Agrárias (CCA). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Araras , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/04894-0 - BIOCHEMICAL EXTRACTIONS OF CAROTENOIDS IN TOMATO CALLUS AND ANALYSIS BY HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (HPLC), BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Tomato is the most consumed and produced fruit vegetable in the world.Vitamin A, in turn, is formed by the cleavage of carotenoids produced by this fruit and otherfoods. Among all the carotenoids, the most important and found in tomatoes are lycopene andbeta-carotene, with beta-carotene being the most important precursor because it results in twomolecules of vitamin A, while the other carotenoids, such as lycopene, result in only onemolecule. . Therefore, the biofortification of tomato plants with beta-carotene could result inmore nutritious plants and help to reduce malnutrition. The first step will be to carry outdifferent experiments with classes, types and concentrations of phytoregulators added to MS½ medium regarding their effectiveness for callus induction in different tomato genotypes. Thesecond stage will be, based on the best treatments, the production of calluses in vitro and theevaluation of their capacity for carotenoid biosynthesis. The percentage of explants with callusformation, roots and shoots, the diameter and mass of callus will be evaluated. Finally, theextraction and identification of carotenoids will be performed using the procedure establishedby Jacques (2009) and quantification performed by spectrophotometry. The expected resultsare: to obtain an efficient protocol for the induction of callogenesis in tomato plants; to knowif the callus cells have competence for the biosynthesis of carotenoids and lycopene, and; if so, evaluate whether the production of carotenoids in the calluses is correlated with the concentration in the fruits.