DEFINIG QUALITY PROPERTIES OF TOMATO FRUITS FROM METABOLITE PROFILES AND SENSORY ANALYSES

ZANOR MI

Lima

Exposición; LAMPS LATIN AMERICAN METABOLIC PROFILING Workshop 2014; 2014

LATIN AMERICAN METABOLIC PROFILING Network

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a world-wide horticultural crop and a model plant for research on fruit metabolism. Data are emerging about the use of robust analytical platforms such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for global metabolite analysis of biological systems. In Argentina, most of the commercial cultivated tomatoes are imported hybrids mainly selected for long shelf life and pests resistances leading to consumer complaints about flavor. Tomato quality is currently the principal target of improvement in breeding programs and it includes fruit size, shape, total solids, color, firmness, ripening, nutritional quality and flavor. Different strategies can be undertaken to exploit the natural variability of the Solanum genus and to incorporate it to commercial varieties. Firstly, we have evaluated tomato recombinant lines (RILs) from an interspecific cross between the Argentinean cultivar Caimanta of S. lycopersicum and the accession LA722 of S. pimpinellifolium. Integration of phenotypic and metabolic data revealed novel relationships between the analyzed components. Fruit morphology traits showed strong connections to variations in the amino acids aspartate, serine and glutamate and to the levels of 2-oxoglutarate. Additionally, some RILs showed increased contents of essential amino acids and chlorogenate an antioxidant considered to be very important compound for human health Secondly, we analyzed tomato populations cultivated by peasants from Argentine Andean Valleys in an attempt to incorporate these varieties with better consumer preferences to the local and regional breeding programs. Populations were screened for their agronomical and biochemical traits and in parallel by semi-trained panels. Primary and secondary metabolites contents were analyzed. Hidden novel relations between the analyzed traits were found such as low amount of terpinolene, linalool and camphor, all volatiles that contribute to accepted flavor in one variety negatively evaluated by sensory panels. Overall, these data indicate that metabolic profiles could be used as good indicators of the quality properties of tomato fruits.