The different combinations of mutants can unpredictably affect the size of the tomato. In this image, the first column shows a wild tomato (WT). The second and third columns show that tomatoes have a single mutation in one promoter region (R1 or R4) for the fruit size gene SlCV3. The individual mutations had little effect on fruit size. But the combination of these two mutations (R1 + R4) produces a much larger fruit.
Each tomato comes in different shapes and sizes. That's because each individual has a set of genetic mutations - mutations - that affect gene function and function. Taken together, millions of small genetic mutations make it difficult to predict how a particular mutation will affect any individual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor (CSHL) has shown how genetic variations in tomatoes can affect how a particular mutation affects the crop. He is working to be able to predict the effects of these mutations on different tomato varieties.
In this study, Lippman and his team used CRISPR, a highly precise and targeted gene editing tool, on two fruit size control genes, SlCV3 and SlWUS. They created more than 60 tomato mutants by removing small pieces of DNA in the starter regions, the regions near the genes that control their expression. In some cases, the individual mutants increased the size of the tomato slightly. Some pairs of mutants do not change fruit size at all. Some combinations have resulted in a dramatic but unpredictable increase in fruit size. "If I change this sequence, I get an effect," says Lippman. Because there's another mutation that nature has accumulated near the one you're making as well as scattered across the genome, many of which could affect the particular mutation you're making. " .
The range of interactions for any two mutants models the consequences of a single mutation occurring in different genetic backgrounds. This effect is comparable to effects found in certain human diseases, wherein some people may have some inbuilt mutations to protect them from pathogenic mutations.
Lippman and his team will continue to determine the effect of individual mutants and associated mutations on certain plant traits. So far, they've measured the interaction between two individual mutations, but the genome has millions of mutations. Lippman hopes to study enough measurable interactions to make the breed selection more predictable and efficient.
The research was published in the journal Nature Plants.
Bui Anh Xuan according to Phys.org
