Proceedings of the XLVI Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress

Giardini Naxos, Italy - 18/21 September, 2002

ISBN 88-900622-3-1

Oral Communication Abstract - S5c

THE TOMATO CRYPTOCHROME GENE FAMILY: MOLECULAR AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISATION

GILIBERTO L.*, TAVAZZA M.*, PERROTTA G.**, GIORNO F.**, CHIESA M.**, WELLER J.***, GIULIANO G.

*) ENEA, Casaccia Res. Ctr., Roma, Italy

**) ENEA, Trisaia Res. Ctr., Matera, Italy

***) University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia

Cryptochromes are blue light photoreceptors controlling plant growth and photoperiodism, showing similarity to DNA photolyases. Our laboratory is characterising the cryptochrome gene family of tomato. We will report on the following:

· The existence in tomato of 3 cryptochrome genes (unlike Arabidopsis, which contains 2 genes)

· The characterisation of Cry1 function, through transgenic / classical genetic approaches

· The characterisation of genes under the control of Cry1, using microarray profiling in a Cry1 mutant

· The attempts to characterise Cry2 and Cry3 function through overexpression / virus-induced gene silencing.

References

· Ninu, L., Ahmad, M., Miarelli, C., Cashmore, A.R. and Giuliano, G. (1999) Cryptochrome 1 controls tomato development in response to blue light. Plant J 18, 551-556.

· Perrotta, G., Ninu, L., Flamma, F., Weller, J.L., Kendrick, R.E., Nebuloso, E. and Giuliano, G. (2000) Tomato contains homologues of Arabidopsis cryptochromes 1 and 2. Plant Mol Biol 42, 765-773.

· Weller, J.L, Perrotta, G., Schreuder, M.E.L., van Tuinen, A., Koornneef, M., Giuliano, G. and Kendrick, R.E. (2001) Genetic dissection of blue-light sensing in tomato using mutants deficient in phytochromes A, B1 and B2 and cryptochrome 1. Plant J 25(4), 427-440.

· Perrotta, G., Yahoubyan, G., Nebuloso, E., Renzi, L., and Giuliano, G. (2001) Tomato and barley contain duplicated copies of cryptochrome 1. Plant Cell Env 24, 991-997.