Tomato with improved shelf-life

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9725712-B2
Application number	US-201313836002-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 15, 2013
Priority date	Sep 9, 2009
Publication date	Aug 8, 2017
Grant date	Aug 8, 2017

Abstract

The invention relates to a tomato plant, wherein the fruits of which have an improved shelf-life as compared to the fruits of a wild type tomato plant, wherein the genetic determinant causative of the improved shelf life trait is a mutation in the hp2 gene. The increased shelf-life may comprise a fruit that shows normal ripening having a fruit firmness at red ripe harvest that is increased by at least 31%, preferably by at least 42%, more preferably by at least 52%, even more preferably by at least 60%, most preferably by at least 70% as compared to a fruit having similar genetic background that lacks the trait of the invention.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mutated non-transgenic Solanum lycopersicum plant comprising a mutation at the 14 th position of the sixth exon of the hp2 gene relative to the wild-type hp2 gene, resulting in fruit of the plant having an improved shelf-life as compared to fruit of a wild type Solanum lycopersicum plant not having the mutation, and wherein improved shelf-life is defined as a fruit that shows normal ripening and a firmness at 4 weeks post harvest that is decreased by less than 50%, when compared to the red ripe harvested fruit stage.

2. The plant of claim 1 , obtained by introgressing the hp2 gene mutation of a Solanum lycopersicum plant into a second plant, wherein the mutation consists of a guanine at the 14 th position of the sixth exon relative to the wild-type hp2 gene, thereby introgressing the improved shelf-life trait caused by the mutation into said plant.

3. The plant of claim 1 , wherein said mutation results in a substitution of an aspartic acid to a glycine in the expression product of the hp2 gene.

4. The plant of claim 1 , wherein the mutation comprises a substitution of adenosine in the wildtype hp2 gene to a guanine in the mutant hp2 gene.

5. The plant as claimed in claim 1 obtained by:
a) crossing a plant, comprising a mutation at the 14 th position of the sixth exon of the hp2 gene relative to the wild-type hp2 gene, resulting in fruit of the plant having an improved shelf-life as compared to fruit of a wild type Solanum lycopersicum plant not having the mutation, with a plant not showing the trait to obtain an F1 population;
b) selfing plants from the F1 population to obtain an F2 population;
c) selecting in said F2 for plant producing fruits that show the improved shelf-life trait resultant from said mutation; and
d) optionally selfing or crossing said plants selected in c) and further optionally selecting from the resulting plants those plants exhibiting the improved shelf-life trait resultant from said mutation; and further optionally harvesting seed from plants in the method.

6. A tomato fruit of a plant as claimed in claim 1 .

7. A progeny of a plant as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the progeny comprises the mutation in the hp2 gene.

8. A propagation material of a plant as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the propagation material comprises the mutation in the hp2 gene.

9. The propagation material as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the material comprises a microspore, pollen, ovary, ovule, embryo sac, egg cell, cutting root, stem, cell, protoplast, or tissue culture of regenerable cells.

10. A Solanum lycopersicum germplasm comprising a mutation at the 14 th position of the sixth exon of the hp2 gene relative to the wild-type hp2 gene causative of an improved shelf-life trait of fruit obtained from a plant obtained from the germplasm, wherein the improved shelf-life trait is compared to fruit of a wild type Solanum lycopersicum plant not having the mutation, wherein improved shelf-life is defined as a fruit that shows normal ripening and a firmness at 4 weeks post harvest that is decreased by less than 50%, when compared to red ripe harvested fruit stage.

11. The germplasm as claimed in claim 10 , obtained from a progeny plant of the mutant LePG58, wherein said mutation in the germplasm consists of a guanine at the 14 th position of the sixth exon of the hp2 gene relative to the wild-type hp2 gene.

12. A method of introducing a mutation in the hp2 gene causative of an improved shelf-life trait in a Solanum lycopersicum plant, the method comprising breeding a plant regenerated from the germplasm as claimed in claim 10 to produce progeny plants exhibiting the improved shelf-life trait resultant from said mutation, wherein said improved shelf-life is compared to the fruit of wild-type Solanum lycopersicum and is further defined as a fruit that shows normal ripening and a firmness at 4 weeks post harvest that is decreased by less than 50%, when compared to red ripe harvested fruit stage.

13. A method of obtaining a non-transgenic Solanum lycopersicum plant that produces fruit having an improved shelf-life trait when compared to fruit of a wild-type Solanum lycopersicum plant; said method comprising introducing a mutation at the 14 th position of the 6 th exon of the hp2 gene of a Solanum lycopersicum plant, relative to the wild-type hp2 gene, resulting in the improved shelf-life trait; wherein improved shelf-life is defined as fruit that shows normal ripening and a firmness at 4 weeks that is decreased by less than 50%, when compared to red ripe harvested fruit stage.

14. An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a mutated tomato hp2 gene comprising a mutation at the 14 th position of the sixth exon of the hp2 gene as compared to the wild-type hp2 gene, said mutation, when present in a Solanum lycopersicum plant results in fruit of the plant having an improved shelf-life as compared to fruit of a wild type Solanum lycopersicum plant not having the mutation, wherein improved shelf-life is defined as a fruit that shows normal ripening and a firmness at 4 weeks that is decreased by less than 50%, when compared to red ripe harvested fruit stage.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising selfing or crossing a plant from the method or harvesting seed from a plant of the method or from a plant resulting from said selfing or crossing.

16. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 14 , wherein the mutation results in a substitution of an aspartic acid to a glycine in the expression product of the mutated hp2 gene.

17. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 14 , wherein the mutation comprises a substitution of adenosine in the wildtype hp2 gene to a guanine in the mutant hp2 gene.

18. A non-transgenic Solanum lycopersicum plant comprising a mutation of the hp2 gene resulting in fruit of the plant having an improved shelf-life as compared to fruit of a wild type Solanum lycopersicum plant not having the mutation, wherein said mutation consists of a guanine at the 14 th position of the sixth exon relative to the wild-type hp2 gene, and wherein improved shelf-life is defined as fruit that shows normal ripening and a firmness at 4 weeks that is decreased by less than 50%, when compared to red ripe harvested fruit stage.

19. A method for obtaining a mutated non-transgenic Solanum lycopersicum plant comprising a mutation at the 14 th position of the sixth exon of the hp2 gene relative to the wild-type hp2 gene resulting in fruit of the plant having an improved shelf-life as compared to fruit of a wild-type Solanum lycopersicum plant not having the mutation, wherein improved shelf-life is defined as fruit that shows normal ripening and a firmness at 4 weeks that is decreased by less than 50%, when compared to red ripe harvested fruit stage, said method comprising:
a) crossing a plant comprising a mutation at the 14 th position of the sixth exon of the hp2 gene relative to the wild-type hp2 gene with a plant not showing the trait to obtain an F1 population;
b) selfing plants from the F1 population to obtain an F2 population;
c) selecting in said F2 for plants producing fruits that show the improved shelf-life trait resultant from said mutation; and
d) optionally selfing or crossing plants selected in c) and further optionally selecting from the resulting plants those plants exhibiting the improved shelf-life trait resultant from said mutation; and further optionally harvesting seed from plants in the method.

Assignees

• Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt En Zaadhandel Bv

Inventors

• Van Dun Cornelis Maria Petrus
• Eggink Pieter Martijn
• Drager Dorthe Bettina

Classifications

• A01H5/08

  Fruits · CPC title

• A01H3/04

  by treatment with chemicals · CPC title

• A01H1/06

  Processes for producing mutations, e.g. treatment with chemicals or with radiation (specific mutations prepared by genetic engineering on plant cell or plant tissues C12N15/00 {; process for producing transgenic plants C12N15/82}) · CPC title

• C12N15/01 Primary

  Preparation of mutants without inserting foreign genetic material therein; Screening processes therefor · CPC title

• C12Q1/6895

  for plants, fungi or algae · CPC title