ISHS Acta Horticulturae 789: XV Meeting of the EUCARPIA Tomato Working Group
THE STUDY OF MOLECULAR DIVERSITY IN NATURAL POPULATIONS OF WILD AND WEEDY TOMATOES AND ITS IMPLICATIONS IN TOMATO BREEDING |
| Authors: | F. Nuez, M.J. Díez, J. Prohens, J.M. Blanca, A. Sifres, B. Picó, L. Cordero, E. Zuriaga |
| Keywords: | genetic resources, Lycopersicon, Eulycopersicon, AFLPs, SSRs |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.789.34 |
| Abstract:
Wild and weedy tomatoes are genetic resources of great value for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) breeding. The study of genetic variation among these materials, the distribution of genetic diversity in their region of origin and the genetic structure of the natural populations provides relevant information for the conservation of these genetic resources and for tomato breeding. Here we present the results of three experiments carried out on these subjects in the subgenus Eulycopersicon, which comprises the wild L. pimpinellifolium and L. cheesmanii and the weedy L. esculentum var. cerasiforme. Morphological and molecular (AFLP and SSRs) studies performed with these materials show that, although typical forms of L. esculentum var. cerasiforme and L. pimpinellifolium can be distinguished by both types of data, many intermediate forms exist, suggesting that these forms are the extremes in a continuous range of variation. The study of genetic variation of L. pimpinellifolium populations from an extended area of northern Peru revealed a low genetic differentiation among populations, although hot spots of diversity existed in some areas. The Galápagos endemism L. cheesmanii is genetically and morphologically different from the other Eulycopersicon taxa, although no genetic differentiation (using AFLPs) could be found among the different forms of this species. Despite its restricted area of distribution and limited morphological variability, it has a considerable genetic variation when compared to L. pimpinellifolium accessions from the mainland. All this information is of great interest for the in situ and ex situ conservation of genetic resources of tomato and has important implications for tomato breeding. | |
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