Tairu Wu, Baohang Su, He Zhang, Dalong Li, Hanqiao Zhang, Guanglong Xiao, Ao Sun, Tingting Zhao & Xiangyang Xu

Theoretical and Appled Genetics; September 20 2024; vol.137; article 228

Key message

A major QTL, qLF2.1, for flowering time in tomatoes, was fine mapped to chromosome 2 within a 51.37-kb interval, and the SlJMJ14 gene was verified as the causal gene by knockout.

Abstract

Tomato flowering time is an important agronomic trait that affects yield, fruit quality, and environmental adaptation. In this study, the high-generation inbred line 19108 with a late-flowering phenotype was selected for the mapping of the gene that causes late flowering. In the F₂ population derived from 19108 (late flowering) × MM (early flowering), we identified a major late-flowering time quantitative trait locus (QTL) using QTL-seq, designated qLF2.1. This QTL was fine mapped to a 51.37-kb genomic interval using recombinant analysis. Through functional analysis of homologous genes, Solyc02g082400 (SlJMJ14), encoding a histone demethylase, was determined to be the most promising candidate gene. Knocking out SlJMJ14 in MM resulted in a flowering time approximately 5–6 days later than that in the wild-type plants. These results suggest that mutational SlJMJ14 is the major QTL for the late-flowering phenotype of the 19108 parental line.

See https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00122-024-04737-3