Graham Seymour

Graham Seymour

A project to unravel the genetic code of the tomato is under way and could prove invaluable when it comes to breeding strategies, scientists have claimed.

UK researchers have announced they are set to play a major role in the international scheme to sequence the genes of the tomato.

The information provided by the project will play an important role in conventional breeding practices to enable producers to develop new crop varieties with improved disease resistance and nutritional quality.

The £700,000 three-and-a-half-year programme is being led by researchers from Imperial College London, the University of Warwick and the Scottish Crop Research Institute.

The 12 chromosomes present in a tomato have been allocated to 10 international teams, with US researchers sequencing three, while groups from the UK, China, France, Japan, Korea, Italy, India, the Netherlands and Spain will all study one chromosome.

Dr Graham Seymour, co-leader of the project at Warwick Horticulture Research International, believed the new research will be of enormous benefit to everyone involved in the improvement of fruit and vegetable crops in the solanaceae class.

He said: “We are confident sequencing of the tomato genome will provide a goldmine of information. For the first time, we will be able to identify genes responsible for important crop traits and by accessing the immense natural variation in the gene pool, produce new and improved varieties through conventional breeding programmes.”

He said tomatoes were not only a significant commercial crop world-wide, but also a model plant species for studying quality traits in all fleshy fruit-bearing species.

The fact tomatoes as members of the solanaceae family means any information gathered will have an impact on research into other members of the same family, including potatoes, peppers and aubergines.

The project has been backed by the UK tomato industry. Gerry Hayman, executive officer of the Tomato Growers Association, said: “Technical innovation has been the lifeblood of British growers.

“We have achieved spectacular improvements in productivity developing a wide range of new tomato types in response to consumer demand, with the emphasis firmly on flavour and high nutrient content.

“Growers have had to be pragmatic in recognising that some new technologies, such as GM, are not currently acceptable to consumers.”