Genomic analysis of heat stress tolerance during tomato pollination

High temperatures during flowering and pollination can result in significant fruit losses, because of heat sensitivity of pollen tube growth. Different tomato varieties show significant differences in heat sensitivity of pollen tube growth. Making use of this naturally occurring variety, this project seeks to identify the molecular basis of adaptations that mitigate the yield-damaging consequences of heat stress during crop reproduction. It is hypothesized that thermotolerant tomato varieties express a pollen tube heat stress response that is either absent or diminished in thermosensitive cultivars and that the thermotolerant pistil buffers heat stress and facilitates pollen tube growth. To identify the molecular mechanisms of thermotolerance in tomato, transcription changes that accompany heat stress in pollen tubes and pistil will be measured in heat tolerant and heat sensitive tomato varieties. The goal is to develop new tomato varieties that are fertile and continue to produce fruits at high temperature.