Analyses of the genetic bases underlying vitamin E contents in tomato fruits

BURGOS ESTANISLAO; QUADRANA LEANDRO; ALMEIDA JULIANA; BERMUDEZ LUISA; INSANI MARINA; ASIS RAMON; ROSSI MAGDALENA; CARRARI FERNANDO

Congreso; XV Congreso Latinoamericano de Fisiología Vegetal ? XXX Reunión Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal; 2014

Tomato is the most produced and consumed veggie in the world and an important source of antioxidants and vitamins. However, breeding programs have still no tackle these traits mainly due to the lack of knowledge underlying them. We have recently identified the causal gene of a major QTL for vitamin E (mQTL9-2-6) contents in fruits which encodes a 2-methyl-6-phytylquinol methyltransferases (VTE3(1)) that catalyses one of the final steps in the biosynthesis VTE. We demonstrated that mQTL9-2-6 is an expression QTL associated with a differential methylation of a SINE retrotransposon located in the promoter region of VTE3(1). In this work we present results about a paralog of this gene: VTE3(2). This copy has arisen by a single duplication event and maps on the short arm of chromosome 3. Unlike VTE3(1), VTE3(2) is preferentially expressed in tomato leaves and its product is also targeted to chloroplasts. To study epistatic interactions between these the two paralogs and by means of an introgression line population, we bred recombinant lines carrying exotic alleles in all possible cigosis status. These contributions would results in novel tools to be immediately applied in breeding programs aiming to enhance the nutritional quality of tomato crops.