In their quest for a tastier tomato, University of Florida scientists are finding traits they believe will tempt consumers with flavor that triggers their senses even more. They’re making significant progress on improving the UF-developed Tasti-Lee™ tomato – and it will feature improved flavor and aroma.
“Modern tomato cultivars typically have poor flavor as compared to heirloom (older) varieties, but breeding for tomato flavor is difficult due to the complexity of the flavor trait,” said Denise Tieman, a research assistant professor of horticultural sciences at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
To start solving this puzzle, Tieman and her UF/IFAS colleagues identified portions of tomato chromosomes that correlate with higher levels of important flavor compounds. They did this by sequencing the DNA of 400 tomato varieties, both heirloom and modern. Then they found regions within the DNA that correlated with higher levels of a flavor compound.
Tieman will present the lab’s preliminary findings at the annual UF/IFAS Florida Tomato Institute on Sept. 4 in Naples, Florida.
Tomato flavor comes from interactions between sugars, acids and aroma volatiles, which are the compounds that you smell, Tieman said.
With the new, albeit preliminary, research findings, “We can now use traditional breeding methods to replace the better version of these regions in a modern tomato variety,” Tieman said.
Anyone who knows molecular breeding can use this information to breed for better flavor.
“We are using it to add flavor in some Florida tomato varieties,” Tieman said. “Several seed companies have expressed interest in this research.”
UF/IFAS researchers developed and released Tasti-Lee™ in 2006, and with it, they came up with a tomato with a fresh-from-the-garden flavor. Not only does it taste good, it’s juicy and red, UF/IFAS experts say.
In her research, Tieman replaces a “bad” version of a gene with a “good” one, resulting in improved flavor. To do this, scientists take flavor traits from an heirloom variety, along with yield, disease resistance and shelf-life from the modern parent. This results in higher levels of desirable flavor compounds in a modern background, Tieman said.
“In doing this, we obtain the best parts of the heirloom parent along with the best parts of the commercial parent,” she said. “Just as a child gets genes from each parent, the tomato will get genes from the heirloom and the commercial parent. We test the DNA of many offspring and choose the plants with the traits we want.”
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By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224, bradbuck@ufl.edu
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS works to bring science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents. Visit the UF/IFAS web site at ifas.ufl.edu and follow us on social media at @UF_IFAS.
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