Unraveling the complexity of transcriptomic, metabolomic and quality environmental response of tomato fruit
Tomato is one of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine and, for this reason, underwent a great diversification resulting in a number of varieties adapted to local conditions, particularly in the Campania region in Southern Italy.
A team of Italian scientists has shown that the molecular properties of tomatoes are strongly influenced by environmental factors such as temperature and moisture. Changing these factors can have pronounced effects on the physical and culinary qualities of the fruits which is an important finding considering the pace of current climate change. The results of the study highlight the complex interplay between genetics and the environment and provide insights into the mechanisms that regulate fruit quality variation.
The study was coordinated by the University of Naples (partner in the TomGEM project) in collaboration with the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) and the University of Verona.
Results of the study were published in BMC Plant Biology and also further promoted with a video abstract.
Data obtained from transcriptomic analyses carried out on three tomato genotypes in the work described in the BMC Plant Biology publication might be integrated with those that will be obtained in TomGEM through genomic analyses, in order to better identify polymorphic markers potentially associated to the heat tolerance.