Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: High productivity and fruit quality can contribute to the increase of tomato production efficiency in the Republic of Moldova. Currently, the quality of tomato fruit remains one of the priority indicators for widespread consumption. This confirms the steady growth of consumer interest in tomato forms with a high content not only of lycopene and β-carotene, but also of anthocyanins, which are more powerful antioxidants. When searching for genetic sources of these traits, it is necessary to take into account the nature of manifestation of a number of other, no less valuable traits - weight, shape, diameter, color, strength and elasticity of fruit skin, content of dry matter, sugars, titratable acidity, organoleptic taste assessment (sour, sweet), aroma, pulp texture and others. Thin skin, cracking and rapid softening of fruits is one of the problems difficult to eliminate for tomato forms with the indicated set of traits. On this basis, the aim of the research was to search for and identify genetic sources of the indicated breeding-valuable traits for their subsequent use in the creation of lines, varieties and heterotic hybrids of tomato with increased elasticity of the fruit skin in the period of filling and ripening, simultaneously combining increased resistance to cracking and long-term preservation of fruit marketability under stress conditions. As experimental material, 50 samples of old local forms of tomato, 125 marker mutant genotypes and more than 50 varieties of domestic and foreign selection were tested and described. Evaluation and identification of the sources of new germplasm was carried out considering the nature of manifestation and the degree of phenotypic expression of the complex of fruit traits affecting its quality within the population of each genotype at different stages of plant development. High heterogeneity within the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) gene pool has been revealed, both with respect to the color range and intensity of fruit coloration, and shape, size, surface and density of fruit skin. Taking into account the color range and intensity of fruit color, the collection samples are divided into 13 groups: 1 – red, intensely red, carrot-red; 2 – intensely orange, orange, light orange; 3 – lemon, yellow, dirty yellow; 4 – pale pink, pink, dark pink; 5 – purple, light violet, violet turning to black; 6 – white; 7 – dark green, green, yellow-green; 8 – intensely green with black shoulders; 9 – burgundy transitioning to black; 10 – brown-black; 11 – red with pink stripes, red with yellow stripes; 12 – pink with yellow stripes, pink with white stripes; 13 – green with yellow stripes and green with brown stripes. Higher diversity within the collection of mutant forms, carriers of a large number of marker genes: o, at, ep, gs, gf, hp, t, u, ug, Ip, l, r, sh, y, controlling the manifestation of these traits. The content of lycopene and β-carotene in fruits is controlled by genes B, Bc, Bog, Del. Fleshiness and high firmness of fruits are imparted by pat and pat-2 genes, which contribute to high fruit formation under conditions different from optimal. High heterogeneity was also found in the traits of fruit shape and surface structure controlled by another group of genes – Ol, o, obl, el, n, n-2. The collection samples systematized into groups and according to the shape of their fruits: rounded, flatrounded, flat, pear-shaped, plum-shaped, cylindrical, heart-shaped and ellipsoid. Within each of these groups, the genotypes also differ in fruit surface texture smooth, semi- and heavily ribbed. Thus, as a result, genotypes (36.4% of the studied ones) with stable manifestation of fruit traits and with very low coefficient of their variability (CV) from 0.4 to 9.7% were identified. The original combination of a complex of valuable fruit traits in one genome and their stable manifestation during the entire vegetation of plants indicates their importance as sources of new germplasm for use in breeding programs to improve existing and obtain new productive tomato varieties and hybrids with high marketability and fruit quality.
Author: Milania Macovei
Institution: Moldova State University
Language: English
Topic: Genetics and Plant Breeding
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7204698996