Comparison of intra- and interspecific reproductive barriers in Solanum chilense, Solanum lycopersicum and their hybrids
(2025) XXI Eucarpia metting of the tomato working group — Location: Plovdiv, Bulgarie (10.June.2025)
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- Abstract
- The domestication of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and its introduction to Europe have decreased its genetic variability, resulting in a genetic bottleneck. Wild tomato species from the Lycopersicon clade are a great source of resistance genes to increase genetic diversity and improve important agronomic traits such as stress tolerance. A promising species for this purpose is Solanum chilense, a wild tomato found primarily in the Atacama salt desert. However, the use of this species is hindered by reproductive barriers, both inter- and intraspecific. Intraspecific barriers manifest as gametophytic self-incompatibility, whereas Solanum chilense is a self-incompatible species while Solanum lycopersicum is self-compatible. This mechanism is getting increasingly understood in other Solanaceous species but is relatively unexplored in wild tomatoes specifically. Interspecific barriers manifest as unilateral incompatibility, where self-incompatible species cannot breed with self-compatible species. This barrier remains largely misunderstood. In this study, we investigated the reproductive barriers between Solanum chilense, Solanum lycopersicum, and their 106 hybrids. We characterized these barriers by analyzing pollen tube growth, fruit set, and seed set for crosses between Solanum chilense, Solanum lycopersicum, and their hybrids. We also examined expression of genes potentially involved in reproductive barriers in the tomato clade. We found several genes potentially involved in reproductive barriers in Solanum chilense. These findings provide insights into the genetic and molecular basis of reproductive barriers in tomatoes, paving the way for future use of wild tomato species like Solanum chilense for crop improvement.
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Moreels, P., & Quinet, M. (2025). Comparison of intra- and interspecific reproductive barriers in Solanum chilense, Solanum lycopersicum and their hybrids. XXI Eucarpia metting of the tomato working group, Plovdiv, Bulgarie. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/260521