Abstract Detail

Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo)

Rajewski, Alex [1], Maheepala, Dinusha C. [1], Baghaei, Arman [1], Litt, Amy [2].

Role of FRUITFULL in the Evolution of Fleshy Fruits: Optimizing Solanaceae Tissue Culture to Generate Stable Transgenic Knockout Lines.

The evolutionary transition from dry to fleshy fruit has occurred many times, and this transition often gives rise to economically and ecologically important taxa. In the family Solanaceae, such a transition separates ancestral dry-fruited species like petunia and tobacco from more recently diverging fleshy-fruited species such as tomato. The FRUITFULL family of MADS-box transcription factors plays a prominent role in determining fruit morphology, and a previous transcriptome study suggests that they might also play a role in this important transition in fruit types. To further study the role of the FRUITFULL genes in fruit development, we plan to use the CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate stable transgenic knockout lines of these genes in several solanaceous species including wild and cultivated tomato (Solanum pimpinellifolium and S. lycopersicum, respectively), desert tobacco (Nicotiana obtusifolia), Jimson weed (Datura stramonium), and night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum). Desert tobacco is a diploid congener of N. tabacum, but is more amenable to greenhouse growth conditions, still flowers copiously, and produces dry capsular fruits. Jimson weed lies in the fleshy-fruited clade of the family but has reverted back to the ancestral dry fruit. Night-blooming jasmine in contrast lies in the dry-fruited grade but has independently evolved a fleshy fruit. Although tissue culture transformation protocols are available for cultivated tomato, no protocols for the remaining species have been published. We have adapted a protocol developed in cultivated tomato for use in wild tomato, desert tobacco, and Jimson weed with promising results. The results of these optimization experiments will be presented along with preliminary data on CRISPR/Cas9-mediated transformation.

1 - University of California, Riverside, Botany and Plant Science, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA, 92521, United States
2 - University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA, 92521, United States

Keywords:
Solanaceae
Flowers
Tissue Culture
CRISPR
FRUITFULL
MADS-Box.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 2, Evolution and Development
Location: 200/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 1st, 2016
Time: 9:15 AM
Number: 2006
Abstract ID:110
Candidate for Awards:Katherine Esau Award