Award Abstract # 2151032
Research-PGR: Decoding the Volatile Aroma of Tomato Fruits

NSF Org: IOS
Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.
Initial Amendment Date: June 6, 2022
Latest Amendment Date: June 6, 2022
Award Number: 2151032
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Shin-Han Shiu
sshiu@nsf.gov
 (703)292-0000
IOS
 Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems
BIO
 Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date: July 1, 2022
End Date: June 30, 2026 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $1,499,986.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $1,499,986.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2022 = $1,499,986.00
History of Investigator:
  • Esther Van der Knaap (Principal Investigator)
    EsthervanderKnaap@uga.edu
  • Denise Tieman (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409
ATHENS
GA  US  30602-1589
(706)542-5939
Sponsor Congressional District: 10
Primary Place of Performance: University of Georgia
310 East Campus Rd
ATHENS
GA  US  30602-1589
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
10
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): NMJHD63STRC5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Plant Genome Research Project
Primary Program Source: 01002223DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 7218, 7577, 8038, 9109, 9178, 9179
Program Element Code(s): 132900
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.074

ABSTRACT

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.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Barnett, Jacob R and Tieman, Denise M and Caicedo, Ana L "Variation in ripe fruit volatiles across the tomato clade: An evolutionary framework for studying fruit scent diversity in a crop wild relative" American Journal of Botany , v.110 , 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16223 Citation Details
Ferrão, Luís_Felipe V and Dhakal, Rakshya and Dias, Raquel and Tieman, Denise and Whitaker, Vance and Gore, Michael A and Messina, Carlos and Resende, Márcio_F R "Machine learning applications to improve flavor and nutritional content of horticultural crops through breeding and genetics" Current Opinion in Biotechnology , v.83 , 2023 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2023.102968 Citation Details
Frick, Elizabeth M. and Sapkota, Manoj and Pereira, Lara and Wang, Yanbing and Hermanns, Anna and Giovannoni, James J. and van der Knaap, Esther and Tieman, Denise M. and Klee, Harry J. "A family of methyl esterases converts methyl salicylate to salicylic acid in ripening tomato fruit" Plant Physiology , 2022 https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiac509 Citation Details
Kaur, Gurleen and Abugu, Modesta and Tieman, Denise "The dissection of tomato flavor: biochemistry, genetics, and omics" Frontiers in Plant Science , v.14 , 2023 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1144113 Citation Details
Li, Xiang and Tieman, Denise and Alseekh, Saleh and Fernie, Alisdair R. and Klee, Harry J. "Natural variations in the <scp><i>SlAKR9</i></scp> aldo/keto reductase gene impact fruit flavor volatile and sugar contents" The Plant Journal , v.115 , 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.16310 Citation Details
Manoj Sapkota1, Lara Pereira1 "Structural variation underlies functional diversity at methyl salicylate loci in tomato" PLOS genetics , 2023 Citation Details

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