Identification of malodorous, a wild species allele affecting tomato aroma that was selected against during domestication

Yaakov Tadmor*, Eyal Fridman, Amit Gur, Olga Larkov, Elena Lastochkin, Uzi Ravid, Dani Zamir, Efraim Lewinsohn

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

85 Scopus citations

Abstract

Vegetable cultivation favored the inclusion of pleasant aromas in the produce, whereas unpleasant aromas were selected against. Introgression lines, generated by hybridization of a cultivated tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) to its wild relative L. pennellii, were used to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) that influence tomato aroma. A marked undesirable flavor was detected by taste panelists in L. pennellii fruits and was related to an introgressed segment from the short arm of chromosome 8. Analysis of the ripe fruits' volatiles of chromosome 8 introgressed lines revealed an up to 60-fold increase in the levels of 2-phenylethanol and phenylacetaldehyde, as compared to the cultivated tomato. This effect was associated with a 10 cM segment originating from the wild species. Although 2-phenylethanol and phenylacetaldehyde have favorable contribution to tomato aroma when present at low levels, phenylacetaldehyde has a nauseating objectionable aroma when present in levels >0.005 ppm. The loss of the ability to produce high levels of phenylacetaldehyde contributed to the development of desirable aroma of the cultivated tomato. The findings provide a genetic explanation for one of the aroma changes that occurred during the domestication of the tomato.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2005-2009
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Volume50
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Mar 2002

Keywords

  • 2-phenylethanol
  • Aroma
  • Flavor
  • L. pennellii
  • Lycopersicon esculentum
  • Mapping
  • Phenylacetaldehyde
  • Tomato

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