Research-PGR: Decoding the Volatile Aroma of Tomato Fruits

西红柿是世界范围内重要的营养来源，为饮食提供维生素和矿物质。虽然西红柿是均衡饮食的重要组成部分，但消费者往往对从超市购买的现代西红柿的味道不满意。口感更好的西红柿会增加消费量，改善消费者的整体健康状况。不同的西红柿口味差别很大，有些很受消费者喜爱，有些根本不受消费者喜爱。这种自然多样性主要存在于不适合大规模生产的西红柿上，因为它们的果实大小、产量和植株外观都会降低，对种植者的盈利能力产生负面影响。番茄风味的关键成分是挥发性香气化合物。然而，番茄中许多香气成分的遗传和生化机制尚不清楚。该项目旨在发现成熟果实中挥发性产物的新特征，最终使番茄口感更好。确定这些缺失的成分将有助于培育具有改良风味的现代品种。此外，下一代科学家将接受生物化学、遗传学和基因组学方面的培训。为高中生物和数学教师举办的生物信息学研讨会将改善教育，并激发人们对STEM领域职业的兴趣。在种子传播方面，物种的生存严重依赖于成熟果实中调节特殊挥发性积累的代谢途径。在番茄中，影响这些途径的基因通常编码代谢酶，这些代谢酶在相关红果物种中具有不同的基因结构和活性。其中一部分也是番茄驯化和改良过程中的选择目标。然而，支链氨基酸、苯丙氨酸和醋酸酯类挥发物产生途径的关键酶和调控基因尚不清楚。本研究项目的主要目标是通过综合应用遗传、分子和生化方法，验证、表征和评估番茄果实挥发性物质产生途径中的新基因。来自改良GWAS和双亲本定位研究的信息将用于确定特定果实挥发性位点的候选基因的优先级。候选基因将通过酶分析、CRISPR敲除和分离群体中位点的精细定位来验证。对高中数学和生物教师的拓展将包括一个关于生物信息学方法的研讨会。高中生将接触到生物信息学，对STEM领域的职业产生兴趣。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Tomatoes are an important source of nutrition worldwide, providing vitamins and minerals to the diet. Although tomatoes are a critical part of a balanced diet, consumers are often displeased with the flavor of modern tomatoes purchased from supermarkets. Better tasting tomatoes result in increased consumption and improved overall consumer health. Different tomatoes vary tremendously in flavors with some that are highly liked or not at all by consumers. This natural diversity is largely found in tomatoes that are unsuitable for large-scale production because of reduced fruit size, yield and plant appearance that negatively impact profitability for growers. Key components of tomato flavor are the volatile aroma compounds. However, the genetic inheritance and the biochemistry of many aroma compounds in tomato are unknown. This project will aim to find novel characteristics of volatile production in ripe fruit which will ultimately lead to better tasting tomatoes. Identifying these missing components will facilitate breeding efforts for modern varieties with improved flavor. In addition, the next generation of scientists will be trained in current methods of biochemistry, genetics and genomics. Bioinformatics workshops for high school biology and math teachers will improve education and create interest in careers in STEM fields.Survival of the species in terms of seed dispersal is critically dependent on the metabolic pathways that regulate specialized volatile accumulation in ripening fruits. In tomato, genes affecting these pathways often encode metabolic enzymes that differ in gene structure and activity among related red-fruited species. A subset of these are also targets of selection during domestication and improvement of tomato. Yet, key enzymes and regulatory genes in pathways to volatiles that are derived from branched chain amino acids, phenylalanine, and those that belong to the acetate ester category are not well known. The main goal of this research project is to validate, characterize and valorize novel genes in tomato fruit volatile production in the selected pathways by applying integrative genetic, molecular, and biochemical approaches. The information from improved GWAS and bi-parental mapping studies will be used to prioritize candidate genes for specific fruit volatile loci. Candidate genes will be validated by enzymatic assays, CRISPR knockouts and fine mapping of loci in segregating populations. Outreach to high school math and biology teachers will include a workshop on bioinformatics methods. High school students will be exposed to bioinformatics, creating interest in careers in STEM fields.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.