Tomato flavor has become an important trait for targeted crop improvement. Because of the historical emphasis on yield and other agronomically important traits, many modern tomato varieties have lost their rich flavor, leading to consumer dissatisfaction. While volatile compounds play an important role in defining the distinct tomato flavor, little is known about their biochemical pathways, making it difficult to build a desirable volatile profile. Identifying the genes involved in volatile production can help us better understand the biochemistry as well as accelerate the breeding process. This study focuses on two consumer-desired volatiles, 1-nitro-2-phenylethane and phenylacetaldehyde, and has mapped a novel QTL on chromosome 8 by combining results from linkage mapping and GWAS (genome-wide association study). A cluster of Amino Acid Decarboxylases (AADCs) were identified as the candidate genes underlying this QTL and a total of four SV haplotypes of the AADC cluster were found in the Varitome collection. Among these haplotypes, Type III was lost during domestication and is a likely beneficial allele to increase the concentrations of phenylacetaldehyde and 1-nitro-2-phenylethane in tomato fruits. Preliminary data of transgenic plants created by CRISPR/Cas9 suggested a positive involvement of this AADC locus in volatile production. Enzymatic analysis of the AADC proteins and incorporation of the beneficial allele into modern tomato varieties is in progress. The outcome of this study will provide breeders valuable tools to facilitate the selection process for better tomato flavor. Characterization of volatile pathways will also give us insights on plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis and the evolution history during adaption and domestication. This research is funded by NSF IOS 2151032.
