Krieger, U., Lippman, Z. B., Zamir, D. (March 2010) The flowering gene SINGLE FLOWER TRUSS drives heterosis for yield in tomato. Nature Genetics, 42 (5). pp. 459-463.
Abstract
Intercrossing different varieties of plants frequently produces hybrid offspring with superior vigor and increased yields, in a poorly understood phenomenon known as heterosis. One classical unproven model for heterosis is overdominance, which posits in its simplest form that improved vigor can result from a single heterozygous gene. Here we report that heterozygosity for tomato loss-of-function alleles of SINGLE FLOWER TRUSS (SFT), which is the genetic originator of the flowering hormone florigen, increases yield by up to 60%. Yield overdominance from SFT heterozygosity is robust, occurring in distinct genetic backgrounds and environments. We show that several traits integrate pleiotropically to drive heterosis in a multiplicative manner, and these effects derive from a suppression of growth termination mediated by SELF PRUNING (SP), an antagonist of SFT. Our findings provide the first example of a single overdominant gene for yield and suggest that single heterozygous mutations may improve productivity in other agricultural organisms.
| Item Type: | Paper |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | organism description > plant > tomato |
| CSHL Authors: | |
| Communities: | CSHL labs > Lippman lab |
| Depositing User: | CSHL Librarian |
| Date: | 16 March 2010 |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Oct 2011 21:05 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Dec 2014 20:44 |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/15458 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Administrator's edit/view item |