TOMATO IS A MAJOR CROP WORLDWIDE.FOR TOMATO TO PROPERLY SET FRUITS IT REQUIRES 21-22°C AT NIGHT AND 24-25°C DURING THE DAY. TOMATO POLLEN PRODUCTION AND VIABILITY IS HIGHLY VULNERABLE TO HIGHER TEMPERATURE (32/26?C DAY AND NIGHT). HOT SUMMERS WITH TEMPERATURE REACHING ABOVE 32°C CAN DISRUPT PRODUCTION OF VIABLE POLLENS AND FRUIT SET, RESULTING IN YIELD LOSS, AS PLANTS DEAL WITH THE HEAT STRESS (HS). POLLENS ARE DEVELOPED THROUGH THE MICROSPOROGENESIS AND MICRO-GAMETOGENESIS STAGES. THE SENSITIVITY OF POLLEN TO HS VARIES OVER THE COURSE OF DEVELOPMENT. THE MOST HEAT SENSITIVE PERIOD IS FROM THE MEIOTIC PROCESS OF THE POLLEN MOTHER CELLS (PMC), AT THE YOUNG MICROSPORE STAGE (UNINUCLEATE STAGE OF MICROSPORE) TO POLLEN MITOSIS.POLLEN DEVELOPMENT AND MATURATION IS ALSO AFFECTED BY THE TAPETUM, DISTURBANCE IN TAPETUM DEVELOPMENT AND DEGENERATION HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE POLLEN INJURY. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT POLLEN METABOLITES, TRANSCRIPTOMES AND PROTEOMES ARE ALL AFFECTED BY HSAND POLLENS AT DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT STAGES WOULD EXPRESS A CELL-TYPE SPECIFIC PROTEOME. HOWEVER, THE LACK OF RESEARCH CAPABILITY TO ACCESS THESE INDIVIDUAL CELLS HAS BEEN HINDERING THE INVESTIGATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF CELL-SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS WITHIN COMPLEX TISSUES. IN THIS PROJECT, WE WILL UTILIZE THE LASER CAPTURE MICRODISSECTION (LCM) METHOD TO ISOLATE HOMOGENEOUS TISSUE SAMPLES OF CELLS OF INTEREST THAT AFFECT POLLEN DEVELOPMENT AND VIABILITY. THESE TISSUES WILL BE ANALYSED FOR TRANSCRIPTOMEAND PROTEOME EXPRESSION USING NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING AND QUANTITATIVE PROTEOMICS ANALYSIS. WE EXPECT THESE ANALYSIS WILL IDENTIFY GENES/PROTEINS THAT CAN BE TARGETED TO IMPROVE DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE-SPECIFIC POLLEN HEAT TOLERANCE.

Tennessee State University, Nashville TN

Investigators