Abstract
In cultivation of tomato, unfavorable conditions, such as high or low temperatures, high or low winds and low light intensity prevent pollination and fruit set. So synthetic auxins and pollinators are used by tomato growers to stabilize fruit set. However these agricultural techniques take labor and costs. So parthenocarpic trait is very useful for tomato fruits production, but little is known about its mechanism. In this study, we analyze the function of cytochrome P450 (CYP78A subfamily) that may play important roles in fruit development, and try to make parthenocarpic tomato plants by transgenic approach.
We isolated four CYP78A subfamily cDNAs from tomato (LeCYP78A1-4), and analyzed the expression patterns of these genes. And we found that the expression of LeCYP78A2 gene is induced in pollinated and 4-CPA (synthetic auxin) treated tomato ovaries. Now we try to introduce this gene into Arabidopsis and tomato, and analyze its function.
