Technology-driven approaches for meiosis research in tomato and wild relatives

Abstract

Meiosis is a specialized cell division during reproduction where one round of chromosomal replication is followed by genetic recombination and two rounds of segregation to generate recombined, ploidy-reduced spores. Meiosis is crucial to the generation of new allelic combinations in natural populations and artificial breeding programs. Several plant species are used in meiosis research including the cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) which is a globally important crop species. Here we outline the unique combination of attributes that make tomato a powerful model system for meiosis research. These include the well-characterized behavior of chromosomes during tomato meiosis, readily available genomics resources, capacity for genome editing, clonal propagation techniques, lack of recent polyploidy and the possibility to generate hybrids with twelve related wild species. We propose that further exploitation of genome bioinformatics, genome editing and artificial intelligence in tomato will help advance the field of plant meiosis research. Ultimately this will help address emerging themes including the evolution of meiosis, how recombination landscapes are determined, and the effect of temperature on meiosis.

A catalogue of recombination coldspots in interspecific tomato hybrids

“…Considered as one of the most cultivated vegetables crop, tomato has become a model system for genetic, developmental and physiological studies of fleshy fruits and is among the most well-studied crops for meiosis [18][19][20][21]. The availability of at least 12 wild relative species of tomato [22] makes it ideal for the study of recombination patterning in relation to genetic features such as SVs.…”

Meiotic recombination in natural and experimental plant populations

“…From a few hundred markers to several thousand markers now, genetic maps have facilitated quantitative trait mapping, marker-assisted breeding and evolutionary studies in different crops. One of the well-studied crops for meiosis is tomato, based on cytological observations and several high-density genetic maps (Peters and Underwood, 2023). The availability of at least 12 wild relative species of tomato enabled the construction of several genetic maps for different interspecific crosses and the identification of many quantitative trait loci such as flowering time and seed infertility (Sim et al, 2012a;Moyle and Graham, 2005;Jimenez-Gomez et al, 2007).…”

“…The application of genome editing to study meiotic genes and processes has been employed on tomato, such as the mutation in RECQ4 gene and FIGL1 (de Maagd et al, 2020;. As one of the most cultivated vegetable crops and the model system for genetic, developmental and physiological studies for fleshy fruits, tomato is proposed as a model system for studying meiosis in eudicot plants (Peters and Underwood, 2023;Giovannoni, 2004).…”