Research identifies gene that can help in controlling pests in tomatoes

Studies led by Embrapa, in partnership with the University of Brasília (UnB) and the National Institute of Agricultural Research (Inia) of Uruguay, mapped the tomato genome and demonstrated the function of the gene responsible for giving the plant its upright leaf posture. This characteristic is important for pest control, increased heat tolerance, and increased production per cultivated area. The discovery allows for scale in the development of new cultivars associated with the architecture of the tomato plant. In this way, it favors research in the area of genetic improvement. The study was possible because researchers observed plants with a natural mutation in the tomato germplasm collection of Embrapa. These presented an upright leaf architecture. “From the field observation, where we saw the manifestation of this characteristic, we made crosses with plants of normal foliage. In our genetic mapping work, we observed that every time a plant presented an upright posture, there ...