2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Anthocyanin is one of the significant components of flavonoid in plant systems which has been reported to have antioxidant properties playing preventive roles for important diseases such as cancers and cardiovascular. Anthocyanin in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is phenotypically expressed as purple color. While three genes; Anthocyanin fruit (Aft), Aubergine (Abg) and atroviolaceum (atv) have been reported to be associated with purple color in tomato, no detailed inheritance analysis has been performed for anthocyanin content. A backcross population (BC1) was developed from NC74 CAP (2009) (purple) x Ailsa Craig (green) crossings. The backcross population consisting of 250 individual plants along with P1 (NC74 CAP (2009)), P2 (Ailsa Craig), and F1 (NC11142) were grown at Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center (MHCREC), Mills River, North Carolina in summer 2017. Traits like hypocotyl color and its intensity, presence of purple color in seedling leaf and its intensity, and presence of purple color in fruit were observed. Anthocyanin content in parents and BC1 population was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Anthocyanin content in 74 CAP (2009) and Ailsa Craig was 15.51 and 7 nmole/gfw, respectively. Population mean of anthocyanin was 12 nmole/gfw ranging from 0 to 84.31 nmole/gfw. Some progenies fall outside the range of parents, suggesting them to be transgressive segregants, which is one of the characteristics of a quantitative trait. We are confirming it in summer 2018 by growing BC2 population. Furthermore, segregation pattern of all the traits did not follow an expected Mendelian ratio for a single or double gene in a backcross population indicating that anthocyanin may be a quantitative trait suggesting that other than reported three genes may be responsible for controlling anthocyanin content in tomato.