FRUTA FRESCA: Improvement of natural resistance in fruit

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 98.0093

Key words (English)

PYRUVATE; DECARBOXYLASE; TOMATO FRUITS; ACETALDEHYDE

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: FAIR-CT98-4211

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 4. Frame Research Programme - 4.3 Biomedical/Health research

Short description (English)

See abstract

Partners and International Organizations (English)

Universities of Madrid (E), Nijmegen (NL), Te-Aviv (IL) and ENEA Roma (I), Cayacea (E), Volcani Center (IL)

Abstract (English)

The Fruta Fresca project intends to combine physiological know-how on fruit ripening with state of the art laser technology. The goal is to develop methodology for improved monitoring of the health status of the fruits during storage, and in addition, to find new ways to improve shelf life.
A major part of Fruta fresca deals with the detection of fruit-emitted volatiles in healthy fruits and in fruits infected with Botrytis, that are diagnostic of the physiological status of the fruit.
The group in Berne has taken on the task to develop plants that have altered characteristics of volatile emission. Such plants may help in the development of laser-based detection methods and may alter the storage characteristics of fruits in a beneficial way.
In this last year of the project, the main task was to grow, characterize and analyze the T1 progeny of primary tomato transformants containing a pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) transgene. This step of genetic stabilization is necessary in order to conduct further experiments on genetically homogeneous populations.
Seeds harvested from selected primary transformants were grown in the greenhouse and the fruits were tested for volatiles emission by gas chromatography (GC).
Seeds from the most promising lines were sent to partners 2 and 3 for further experiments.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 98.0093