Abstract Detail

Comparative Genomics/Transcriptomics

Quinchiguango Archuleta, Inti [1].

Grow and then Show: understanding inducible phenotypes in solanum lycopersicum through transcriptomic analysis.

With a changing climate comes an urgency to seek out novel phenotypes within agricultural products which will ensure feasibility of food crops into the future. This is an endeavor not only connected to fulfilling the basic nutritional requirements of humans, but also one of cultural and culinary importance. To lose the ability to grow culturally relevant foods not only impacts our survival, but our identity and diversity as human beings. To lose these crops would be to lose a part of the human story. Tomatoes are a well known and virtually ubiquitous fruit featured in cuisine worldwide. Wild relatives are known to grow in much of South America, and across vastly different climates, and can all be crossed with cultivated tomatoes. Due to the greater genetic diversity among wild tomato relatives, their ability to be crossed with cultivated tomatoes becomes key to increasing viability in cultivated varieties. In tomato growing regions, temperatures can regularly climb to over 40°C triggering heat stress as well as increasing susceptibility to disease, particularly in conjunction with drought conditions. As such, it is integral that we seek novel approaches to maintain viability and abundance into a changing future. The tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is of particular interest due to its prevalence over vast growing regions including North and Central Africa, South East Asia and Taiwan. It is well known that abiotic factors such as heat stress tend to increase the negative effects of viral infection due to the combined stress on the individual. To meet these challenges, a cultivar with both resistance to heat stress and to TYLCV is required. A team led by Czosnek at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have performed breeding programs which have yielded tomato lines that are both heat tolerant and resistant to TYLCV. Fascinatingly, there is a relationship between infection with TYLCV and heat resistance where heat resistance is inducible by viral infection. In this work we performed expression analysis via 3’ RNAseq which we hope will lead to greater understanding of the heat tolerance via viral infection observed in the green house. Through this work, we attempt to demystify phenotypic observations by understanding plant response to heat and TYLCV. In this way we can further aid our food supply in the face of climate change and continue to produce important agricultural products into the future.

1 - Boyce Thompson Institute, Computational Biology Center, 533 Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Number: CGT1004
Abstract ID:1052
Candidate for Awards:Margaret Menzel Award