Genetic Analysis of Acylsugar Production in Intraspecific Populations of the Wild Tomato, Lycopersicon pennellii

Abstract

Acylsugars produced by many accessions of wild tomato (L. pennellii) mediate resistance to a number of important pests of tomato. The highly resistant L. pennellii accession LA716 accumulates high levels of acylsugars, of which 85% are in the form of acylglucoses, the rest being acylsucroses. In contrast, L. pennellii accession LA1912, which does not show the insect resistance of accession LA716, accumulates very low levels of acylsugars, of which 55% are represented by acylglucoses. The intraspecific F1 derived from crosses between the accessions LA716 and LA1912 accumulates moderate levels of acylsugars, of which, like its LA716 parent, 85% are in the form of acylglucoses. Intraspecific F2 and backcross populations derived from crosses between the accessions LA716 and LA1912 were surveyed for acylsucrose and acylglucose production. These populations segregated for the ability to produce acylsugars, levels of total acylsugars produced and amount of acylglucoses as a percentage of total acylsugars. The genetic control of these traits will be discussed.