<p>Tomato gene researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have determined a specific genetic mechanism for hybrid vigor, the property of plants resulting from cross-breeding of distinctly different inbred varieties in order to achieve a yield boost. Now that the underlying mechanism for this property has been uncovered, it will be possible to exploit this to significantly increase yield of processing tomatoes, according to a recent paper by Jiang et al., 2013.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Processing tomatoes, which are commonly used for making sauce and juice, are determinate, meaning that they are like a compact bush and stop growing earlier than garden and greenhouse varieties. As a result, they produce fewer fruits than indeterminate garden varieties.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In earlier research, Professor Zach Lippman and Israeli colleagues identified a rare genetic abnormality in the gene that makes florigen, a hormone that controls the process of flowering and flower production. This mutation caused a substantial increase in tomato yields in bush tomatoes.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/tomatoes.jpg" alt="Tomato Gene Breakthrough" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Lippman and his team, led by postdoctoral researcher Ke Jiang, uncovered the reason for this increase: the mutation reduced the amount of florigen, the hormone that stops the plant from producing flowers.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“Tomato Yield Heterosis (hybrid vigor) is Triggered by a Dosage Sensitivity of the Florigen Pathway that Fine-Tunes Shoot Architecture,” according to the paper.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“This is because,” Lippman explains, “bushy tomato varieties are highly sensitive to the amount, or dosage, of the florigen hormone, which alters plant architecture – that is, how many flowers can form before growth ends. These discoveries lead to an exciting prediction: that it may be possible to tweak florigen levels to increase yields even further.”</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/doi/pgen.1004043" target="_new"> Paper by Jiang et al. </a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.cshl.edu/Article-Lippman/genetic-discovery-points-the-way-to-much-bigger-yields-in-tomato-other-flowering-food-plants" target="_new"> Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
