Screening Solanum sitiens introgression lines for shelf-life phenotypes

The perishable nature of fruit leads to postharvest losses in fresh fruit markets. Thus, identifying traits that extend shelf life is critical to food security. To this aim, we screened fruit from a recently developed population of introgression lines harboring small segments of a wild tomato relative, Solanum sitiens. Endemic to the Atacama Desert of Chile, S. sitiens exhibits distinct adaptations that contribute to its persistence in extreme drought, high salinity, and low temperatures. Fruits were harvested from the greenhouse and monitored for ~3 months for weight loss and visible signs of deterioration. Fruits lose water post-harvest due to transpiration, and this loss can lead to wrinkles, which deter consumers. We monitored relative weight loss of fruits from each accession in the population throughout the trial. We also took images weekly and scored fruit based on the presence of traits such as wrinkles, discoloration, and rotting. We found one line, LA5265, harboring a segment of chromosome 5 from S. sitiens, produced fruit with extended shelf and strong resistance to post-harvest decay. LA5265 fruit remained firm with a marketable appearance throughout the trial. LA5265 has been placed into a breeding program and may lead to the extension of shelf life in fruits. All phenotypic data generated is being compiled for the Sol Genomics Network and Tomato Genetics Resource Center databases to complement broader tomato research efforts.

I had a very fulfilling experience this summer working on projects between both Jim Giovannoni’s tomato molecular biology lab and Greg Vogel’s tomato and eggplant breeding lab. I was fortunate enough to have a very broad experience in plant-based research, between conducting phenotypic screens of wild tomato introgression libraries with subsequent molecular investigations, contributing to tomato cold-tolerance experiments and field days, and constructing a novel approach to measure the proline content of leaf samples with little tissue recovery and high sensitivity. This experience helped me blossom into a highly independent reasercher at the undergraduate level and reinforced my aspirations of pursuing a PhD in the area of plant molecular biology. Outside of hands on research, I had the amazing opportunity to learn from and network with an ever-impressive pool of faculty, scientists, peers, and community members. I am very thankful to the Boyce Thompson Institute and Cornell University’s Plant Genome REU for these experiences and the expert guidance and mentorship from both the Giovannoni and Vogel lab members.