Additional allele tests of anthocyanin deficiencies

Rick, C.M. Dept. Veg. Crops, Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616

A greenstem line with reduced, compact growth habit and rough leaves (3-245), derived from EMS treatment of VF36, was hybridized with our battery of anthocyanin-deficient mutants. All crosses yielded purple-stemmed seedlings except the one with bls, whose progeny consisted solely of green-stemmed seedlings. Noteworthy in this connection is the reduction of plant size of 3-245, which is also a trait of bls (hence the name "Baby Lea Syndrome"). Although we have not yet tested for cosegregation of the pigment and plant habit traits of this mutant, it appears likely that they are pleiotropic.

As far as we know, aft (anthycyaninless fragilis) has not been previously tested for allelism of its anthcyanin deficiency. Since we recently grew afr for stock increase (necessarily in the greenhouse because it scarcely survives our field conditions) in 1992, I took advantage of the opportunity to hybridize it with our standard battery of green-stems. All crosses yielded + progeny except the cross with ae, which yielded exclusively green-stemmed seedlings. These tests relegate aft to an allele of ae; its symbol should therefore logically be changed to ae^afr^.

In keeping with all results of the last decade, new or untested anthocyanin deficiencies prove to be alleles of previously established loci. The hope of adding new useful mutants at other loci is thus fading, and these results probably indicate that all genes responsible for disrupting the synthetic pathway of anthocyanin in tomatoes have been discovered.