A chemical genetic roadmap to improved tomato flavor

Denise Tieman, Guangtao Zhu, Marcio F.R. Resende, Tao Lin, Cuong Nguyen, Dawn Bies, Jose Luis Rambla, Kristty Stephanie Ortiz Beltran, Mark Taylor, Bo Zhang, Hiroki Ikeda, Zhongyuan Liu, Josef Fisher, Itay Zemach, Antonio Monforte, Dani Zamir, Antonio Granell, Matias Kirst, Sanwen Huang, Harry Klee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

591 Scopus citations

Abstract

Modern commercial tomato varieties are substantially less flavorful than heirloom varieties. To understand and ultimately correct this deficiency, we quantified flavor-associated chemicals in 398 modern, heirloom, and wild accessions. A subset of these accessions was evaluated in consumer panels, identifying the chemicals that made the most important contributions to flavor and consumer liking. We found that modern commercial varieties contain significantly lower amounts of many of these important flavor chemicals than older varieties. Whole-genome sequencing and a genome-wide association study permitted identification of genetic loci that affect most of the target flavor chemicals, including sugars, acids, and volatiles. Together, these results provide an understanding of the flavor deficiencies in modern commercial varieties and the information necessary for the recovery of good flavor through molecular breeding.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)391-394
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume355
Issue number6323
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Jan 2017
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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