Scientists Identify Gene that Controls Fruit Shape

Scientists from the Ohio State University have identified a gene in tomato that can control fruit elongation, a discovery that could help plant breeders develop fruits of unusual shapes and sizes. Square cucumbers and round bananas might not really be so far off.

The gene, dubbed SUN, is only the second ever found to play a significant role in the elongated shape of various tomato varieties. A unique characteristic of the gene is that it affects fruit shape after pollination and fertilization. When SUN was introduced, via transgene insertion, to wild round fruit-bearing tomato lines, they ended up bearing extremely elongated fruits.

The discovery of the gene may also contribute new insights to the mechanisms of plant development. Esther Van der Knaap, who led the study hypothesized that SUN regulates levels of the amino acid tryptophan in plants. Van der Knaap also postulated that SUN is involved in shape variation through plant hormone and secondary metabolite regulation. Scientists are conducting further studies to find out if SUN, or a closely related gene, is responsible in determining fruit shape in other vegetables and crops.

The abstract of the article published by the journal Science is available at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/319/5869/1527 Read the press release at http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/tomshape.htm