Scientists Locate ‘Large-Fruit’ Gene in Tomato

Ripe, round, red, large tomatoes: they are perhaps the best known icon of summer. Most people are unaware, however, that this fruit was not always so robust. Selective breeding for thousand of years has resulted to the tomatoes we know today. Wild-type type tomatoes are often small, round berries but today’s domesticated plants produce the large, round tomatoes commonly found on the store shelf. Scientists at Cornell University, led by Steven Tanksley, have pinpointed the exact location of the ‘large fruit’ gene in the tomato genome.

The team identified mutations responsible for the evolution of large fruit by examining the sequence of the ‘small-fruit’ allele and the ‘large-fruit’ allele. Tanksley believes this study is the first step towards reconstructing events that led to the domestication of fruit development. The mechanisms identified through this study will also be applied to other agriculturally important solanum species, such as pepper, eggplant, and potato.

Read the full article at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/impact/2008/nri/10271_tomato.html