Abstract Detail

Crops and Wild Relatives

Rashidzade, Maryam [1], Caicedo, Ana [2].

The effect of SGA variation in wild tomato species in defense against strains of Fusarium oxysporum.

Steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are unique assortments of secondary metabolites in the Solanaceae plant family, produced as defenses to biotic stressors, including pathogen and herbivore attacks. Tomatine and dehydrotomatidine are two well-known SGAs in cultivated tomatoes, and both have been implicated in inhibiting some fungal growth. However, little is known about the quantity and chemical diversity of SGAs in wild tomatoes and the potential antifungal properties of SGAs across wild tomato species. Our research aims to address this gap of knowledge through the identification of SGAs in 16 different wild tomato species and dissecting the role of SGAs in inhibiting the growth of five Fusarium stains. Tomatine content ranged from 0.1-6 mg/g of leaf in the species we examined, and dehydrotomatine from 0.05 to 1.8 mg/g of the leaf. High antifungal properties to one strain of Fusarium were observed for the semi-domesticated tomato, Solanum. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme. Lower inhibition in Fusarium growth was observed in S. habrochaites, a species relatively low in SGAs. Other wild tomato species seem to harbor medium amounts of SGA, and we are examining their antifungal properties to a diverse set of Fusarium strains. Overall our results demonstrate that the chemical diversity of SGAs across wild tomato species can lead to different levels of inhibition in the growth of Fusarium, providing the necessary background to study the co-evolution of wild tomatoes and their pathogenic fungi.

1 - UMass Amherst, Biology, 611 North Pleasant St., Amherst, MA, 01002, United States
2 - University Of Massachusetts, Biology, 611 North Pleasant St, 611 North Pleasant St., Amherst, MA, 01003, United States

Keywords:
SGAs
Fusarium oxysporum 
tomato
Inhibition
Tomatine
Dehydrotomatine
Wild.

Presentation Type: Poster
Number: PCW010
Abstract ID:888
Candidate for Awards:Phytochemical Best Poster Award