Abstract
In cultivation of tomato, unfavorable conditions prevent pollination and fruit set. 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.
Previous study, we isolated four CYP78A cDNAs from tomato (LeCYP78A1-4) and found that the expression of LeCYP78A2 was induced by pollination in ovaries. In this study, we introduced this gene into tomato, and analyzed its function. The transgenic tomato plants overexpressing LeCYP78A2 changed fruit size and seed formation. And the LeCYP78A2 RNAi plants showed pleiotropic developmental phenotypes, including short internode, abnormal flower morphology and small leaf size. These results suggest that LeCYP78A2 may play important roles in morphogenesis and fruit development.
