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Shammai A, Petreikov M, Yeselson Y, Faigenboim A, Moy-Komemi M, Cohen S, Cohen D, Besaulov E, Efrati A, Houminer N, Bar M, Ast T, Schuldiner M, Klemens PAW, Neuhaus E, Baxter CJ, Rickett D, Bonnet J, White R, Giovannoni JJ, Levin I, Schaffer A. Natural genetic variation for expression of a SWEET transporter among wild species of Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) determines the hexose composition of ripening tomato fruit. Plant J 2018; 96:343-357. [PMID: 30044900 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Revised: 06/19/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The sugar content of Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) fruit is a primary determinant of taste and quality. Cultivated tomato fruit are characterized by near-equimolar levels of the hexoses glucose and fructose, derived from the hydrolysis of translocated sucrose. As fructose is perceived as approximately twice as sweet as glucose, increasing its concentration at the expense of glucose can improve tomato fruit taste. Introgressions of the FgrH allele from the wild species Solanum habrochaites (LA1777) into cultivated tomato increased the fructose-to-glucose ratio of the ripe fruit by reducing glucose levels and concomitantly increasing fructose levels. In order to identify the function of the Fgr gene, we combined a fine-mapping strategy with RNAseq differential expression analysis of near-isogenic tomato lines. The results indicated that a SWEET protein was strongly upregulated in the lines with a high fructose-to-glucose ratio. Overexpressing the SWEET protein in transgenic tomato plants dramatically reduced the glucose levels and increased the fructose : glucose ratio in the developing fruit, thereby proving the function of the protein. The SWEET protein was localized to the plasma membrane and expression of the SlFgr gene in a yeast line lacking native hexose transporters complemented growth with glucose, but not with fructose. These results indicate that the SlFgr gene encodes a plasma membrane-localized glucose efflux transporter of the SWEET family, the overexpression of which reduces glucose levels and may allow for increased fructose levels. This article identifies the function of the tomato Fgr gene as a SWEET transporter, the upregulation of which leads to a modified sugar accumulation pattern in the fleshy fruit. The results point to the potential of the inedible wild species to improve fruit sugar accumulation via sugar transport mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arik Shammai
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Marina Petreikov
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Yelena Yeselson
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Adi Faigenboim
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Michal Moy-Komemi
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Shahar Cohen
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Dvir Cohen
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Eduard Besaulov
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Ari Efrati
- Zeraim-Syngenta Seed Co., Gedera, Israel
| | | | - Moshe Bar
- Zeraim-Syngenta Seed Co., Gedera, Israel
| | - Tslil Ast
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Maya Schuldiner
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel
| | - P A W Klemens
- Department of Plant Physiology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Ekkehard Neuhaus
- Department of Plant Physiology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Charles J Baxter
- Syngenta Seed Co., Jeallott's Hill Research Centre, Bracknell, UK
| | - Dan Rickett
- Syngenta Seed Co., Jeallott's Hill Research Centre, Bracknell, UK
| | - Julien Bonnet
- Syngenta Seed Co., Toulouse Innovation Center, Saint Sauveur, France
| | - Ruth White
- USDA-ARS and Boyce-Thompson Institute, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | | | - Ilan Levin
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Arthur Schaffer
- Institute of Plant Sciences Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon LeZion, Israel
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Garcia AL, McLean K, Wright CM. Types of fruits and vegetables used in commercial baby foods and their contribution to sugar content. Matern Child Nutr 2015; 12:838-47. [PMID: 26299640 DOI: 10.1111/mcn.12208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Fruits and vegetables (F&V) are often featured in names of commercial baby foods (CBFs). We aimed to survey all available CBFs in the UK market with F&V included in the food name in order to describe the amount and types of F&V used in CBF and their contribution to total sugar content. Food labels were used to identify F&V and total sugar content. Fruits were more common than vegetables in names of the 329 CBFs identified. The six most common F&V in the names were all relatively sweet: apple, banana, tomato, mango, carrot and sweet potato. The percentage of F&V in the foods ranged from a median of 94% for sweet-spoonable to 13% for dry-savoury products. Fruit content of sweet foods (n = 177) was higher than vegetable content of savoury foods (n = 152) with a median (IQR) of 64.0 g/100 g (33.0-100.0) vs. 46.0 g/100 g (33-56.7). Fruit juice was added to 18% of products. The proportion of F&V in CBF correlated significantly with sugar content for all the food types except dry-savoury food (sweet-spoonable r = 0.24, P = 0.006; savoury-spoonable r = 0.65, P < 0.001; sweet-dry r = 0.81, P < 0.001; savoury-dry r = 0.51, P = 0.06) and explained up to two-thirds of the variation in sugar content. The F&V content of CBFs mainly consists of fruits and relatively sweet vegetables which are unlikely to encourage preferences for bitter-tasting vegetables or other non-sweet foods. F&V contribute significantly to the total sugar content, particularly of savoury foods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ada Lizbeth Garcia
- Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G31 2ER, UK.
| | - Kimberley McLean
- Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G31 2ER, UK
| | - Charlotte M Wright
- Peach Unit, Child Health, School of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G51 4TF, UK
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