Crop scientists discover gene that controls f...(h they determined to be sufficient on i...)

IQD12 belongs to a family of proteins whose discovery is relatively new in the world of biology. So new that IQD12 is only the second IQ67 protein-containing domain whose function in plants has been identified. The other one is AtIQD1, discovered in the plant model Arabidopsis thaliana, which belongs to the same family as broccoli and cabbage. In Arabidopsis, AtIQD1 increases levels of glucosinolate, a metabolite that Ohio State researchers are studying in broccoli for its possible role in inhibiting cancer (http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/goodbroc.htm).

Unlike AtIQD1, SUN doesnt seem to be affecting glucosinolate levels in tomato, since these metabolites are not produced in plants of the Solanaceous family (which includes tomato, peppers, eggplant and other popular crops), van der Knaap explained. But there appears to be a common link between the two genes, which is that they may be regulating tryptophan levels in the plant. Thus, SUN may be telling us more about the whole process of diversification in fruits and across plant species, perhaps through its impact on plant hormones and/or secondary metabolites levels.

In the process of identifying and cloning SUN, van der Knaaps team was also able to trace the origin of this gene and the process by which it came to reside in the tomato genome.

Another unique characteristic of the SUN gene is that it affects fruit shape after pollination and fertilization, with the most significant morphological differences found in developing fruit five days after plant flowering. The only other fruit-shape gene previously identified OVATE, a discovery by Cornell University plant breeder Steven Tanksley, van der Knaaps advisor while she was a post-doctoral associate there influences the future look of a fruit before flowering, early in the ovary development.
'/>"/>