New tomato grows day and night

Researchers from Wageningen UR and Monsanto have discovered a gene in wild tomatoes which enables modern tomato varieties to cope with continuous light. Horticulturalists use artificial light to raise production in their greenhouses. Plants convert light into energy. Under continuous light, however, highly productive modern tomato varieties suffer damage to their leaves, which can kill the plant. The phenomenon, which tomato growers have been aware of for almost a century, occurs when they are exposed to more than 16 hours of light per day. Certain species of wild tomatoes, however, can withstand continuous light. Researchers isolated the gene responsible for this, which is called CAB-13, and cross-bred it into modern varieties. A test showed that these crossbreeds could cope with continuous light. The plants also produce 20 percent more tomatoes. The study may therefore contribute to a new development in the commercial cultivation of tomatoes and other food crops. The results also open up new possibilities for research on photosynthesis in plants in general. Roses too, for example, can make use of photo synthesis 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It may be possible to achieve this in other plant species. The research results were published in August in Nature Communications. More information: wim.vanieperen@wur.nl Sources Wageningen World, 2014, nr. 3