Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the relationship between leaf area, leaf number, dry weight, and mg extract of Lycopersicon hirsutum (LA 1777) leaf washes and germination or root growth of common purslane (Portulaca oleracea) seeds. Additional experiments were conducted to determine the relationship between L. hirsutum (accessions 1777 and 1625) leaf washes and germination or root growth of common purslane seeds. Activity of separated sesquiterpenes from trichomes were compared to crude leaf washes. Results from the leaf washes of the L. hirsutum accessions (1777 and 1625) indicated that there was no significant difference between hexane leaf washes, methanol leaf washes, or crude leaf extracts when common purslane was used as the assay species. The accession 1777 was greater than 800 x more inhibitory to germination and greater than 300x more inhibitory to root growth of purslane seeds than accession 1625.
Breeding for resistance to insects and other arthropod pests in vegetables has been a difficult endeavor. Greater public awareness of health and environmental issues requires that we as horticultural scientists reexamine why breeding for resistance has been difficult. The literature clearly suggests the potential for a genetic solution, and the literature also reveals some reasons why achievement of genetic resistance to arthropod pests has not been as successful as the achievement of resistance to pathogens. The thesis of my presentation is that the complexity of plant-arthropod interactions often prevents simple genetic approaches to breeding for resistance. Data using Lycopersicon hirsutum and its interaction with spider mites will provide examples of the these complex interactions. L. hirsutum is a wild relative of L. esculentum, the common tomato, and is nearly immune to insect attack. However, there are few or no clear examples of this taxa contributing to the insect resistance of tomato. The complexity of the interaction between mites and trichomes on L. hirsutum will be highlighted as it pertains to environment and genetics of the plant, and the development of the arthropod.
Cultured leaf explants obtained from 36 accessions of the wild tomato Lycopersicon hirsutum were evaluated for morphogenic capacity in response to 3 cytokinins [zeatin, benzylamino purine (BA) and kinetin] in combination with indoleacetic acid (IAA). Morphogenic responses within this wild species were accession-dependent, Cotyledon tissue, in comparison to true leaf explants, were superior for callus and shoot formation. Optimal callus induction medium varied with accession, but most often contained 13.3 μM BA plus 1.7 μM IAA. Media containing 4.6 or 9.2 μM zeatin plus 0.1 μM iaa were optimal shoot induction media. Explants of L. hirsutum f. typicum accessions 126445, 127826, 128644, and 390663 and L. hirsutum f. glabratum accessions 365904, 365905, and 365906 exhibited the highest levels of shoot formation.
Cultured leaf explants obtained from 36 accessions of the wild tomato Lycopersicon hirsutum were evaluated for morphogenic capacity in response to 3 cytokinins [zeatin, benzylamino purine (BA) and kinetin] in combination with indoleacetic acid (IAA). Morphogenic responses within this wild species were accession-dependent, Cotyledon tissue, in comparison to true leaf explants, were superior for callus and shoot formation. Optimal callus induction medium varied with accession, but most often contained 13.3 μM BA plus 1.7 μM IAA. Media containing 4.6 or 9.2 μM zeatin plus 0.1 μM iaa were optimal shoot induction media. Explants of L. hirsutum f. typicum accessions 126445, 127826, 128644, and 390663 and L. hirsutum f. glabratum accessions 365904, 365905, and 365906 exhibited the highest levels of shoot formation.
Cultured leaf explants obtained from 36 accessions of the wild tomato species, Lycopersicon hirsutum Humb. and Bonpl., were evaluated for morphogenic capacity in response to three cytokinins (zeatin, BA, and kinetin) in combination with IAA. Media containing 0.1 μm IAA plus 4.6 or 9.2 μm zeatin were optimal for shoot induction. Cotyledon explants were superior to true leaf explants for obtaining shoot formation. Morphogenic responses of L. hirsutum f. typicum and L. hirsutum f. glabratum were clearly accession-dependent and ranged from exceptional with numerous shoots produced to recalcitrant with no shoots produced. The high morphogenetic capacity of leaf explants from L. hirsutum f. typicum accession 128644 was also evident in protoplast-derived calli that readily regenerated shoots. Chemical names used (E)-2-methyl-4-(1H-purin-6-ylamino)-2-buten-1-ol (zeatin), N-(phenylmethyl) -1H-purin-6-amine (BA), N- (2-furanylmethyl) -1H- purin-6-amine (kinetin), 1H- indole-3-acetic acid (IAA).
Abstract
Inheritance of resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) was studied in the interspecific crosses Lycopersicon escutentum Mill. cv. UC 82 x Lycopersicon cheesmanii ssp. minor (Hook) C.H. Mill. LA 1401, and Lycopersicon esculentum cv. VF 145-B-7879 x Lycopersicon hirsutum Humb. and Bonpl. LA 386. Genetic populations were artificially inoculated with TYLCV prior to transplanting, and were later evaluated under field conditions. Reaction of parents, F2 and F3 plants, and backcrosses of resistant F2 plants to UC 82, indicated that resistance derived from L. cheesmanii seems to be recessive. Narrow sense heritability (NSH) was 0.44. Reaction of parental F1, F2, and backcross plants indicated that resistance derived from L. hirsutum is dominant and controlled by more than one gene.
Abstract
Spider mite behavior was characterized on leaflets, varying in extent of expansion, from mite-resistant Lycopersicon hirsutum and mite-susceptible L. esculentum plants. Survival, mortality, avoidance, and fecundity of the mites were related to Type VI trichome density and/or other covariants of leaflet development. At equivalent Type VI densities L. hirsutum leaflets were more resistant than those of L. esculentum. Thus, differential density of the Type VI trichome did not account fully for the resistance of the L. hirsutum plants. Mite mortality was associated with the presence of the L. hirsutum Type VI trichome tips and mite avoidance was associated with other factors that covaried with L. hirsutum leaflet development and leaflet surface.
Many accessions of Lycopersicon hirsutum are highly resistant to insects. Trichomes and their secretions have been extensively indicated as factors of resistance. One mechanism of resistance mediated by secretions is repellency, a mechanism that is consistent with the observation that few insects visit plants of L. hirsutum. Trichome secretions from certain accessions of L. hirsutum f. typicum are repellent to spider mites. However, the composition of secretions from different accessions of f. typicum are chemically diverse. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons are prevalent in secretions, but are structurally diverse. How structure may relate to repellency is of interest but difficult to address because isolation of pure sesquiterpene hydrocarbons from hydrocarbon mixtures is difficult. To begin examining relationships between structure and activity we determined how chain length of n-alkanes related to repellency of spider mites. n-Alkanes having chain lengths from 8 to 22 carbon atoms were assayed for repellency. The C16-C18 alkanes were most repellent. Smaller and larger hydrocarbons were less repellent. The EC50 for n-hexadecane was equal to that of the most repellent natural products we have isolated from trichome secretions of L. hirsutum.
Abstract
Trichome secretion composition, glandular trichome densities, and spider mite resistance were measured for 10 accessions of Lycopersicon hirsutum Humb. & Bonpl., a wild, South American relative of tomato exhibiting high arthropod resistance. The sesquiterpene hydrocarbons zingiberene and γ-elemene were identified as major volatile components of Type VI trichome secretions from L. hirsutum f. typicum (hir) plant introduction (PI) 251303. These compounds predominated trichome secretions from five other hir accessions, whereas the methyl ketones 2-undecanone and 2-tridecanone predominated trichome secretions from five accessions of L. hirsutum f. glabratum (gla). Type IV trichome densities were greater on gla than on hir accessions, whereas Type VI trichome densities were greater on hir than on gla. Type VI trichome densities were greater on plants cultured under a 14- to 15-hr photoperiod (LD) than on plants cultured under an 8-hr photoperiod (SD) for gla, but not hir, accessions. Type IV trichome densities were greater under SD than under LD conditions for all accessions. In general, hir accessions were more resistant to mites (Tetranychus urticae Koch) than gla accessions. Spider mite resistance was correlated with Type IV trichome density on hir, but not on gla, accessions. Differences in Type IV trichome densities alone between hir and gla do not explain the greater mite resistance of hir accessions.
Abstract
Early blight resistance was estimated in field plots for parents and F1, F2, and backcross progenies of crosses with NC EBR-1, a line derived from Lycopersicon hirsutum P.I. 126445. Areas under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) showed that resistance from NC EBR-1 was heritable and quantitative in nature. generation means in two families were intermediate to those of NC EBR-1 and susceptible parents. The distribution of AUDPC means for the different generations in both families indicated the presence of epistasis or gene linkage. Lack of fitness tests for curve-linearity confirmed this in one family. A, B, and C scaling tests showed similar results. A joint three-factor model and subsequently a six-factor model displayed the presence of epistasis in both families. Ignoring epistatic effects, narrow-sense heritability (h2) was 0.49 in one family and 0.40 in the other. By regressing F3 progeny AUDPC means on selected F2 plant values, h2 was 0.25 and 0.17, respectively.