In an article published in the journal Development, researchers at the University of São Paulo's Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) in Brazil describe mechanisms relating to the development of the tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum) and point to ways of creating novel technologies for tomato yield improvement.
Many processes in plants associated with fruit development occur at the floral meristem, a region rich in stem cells. The tomato plant's flowers have both a male organ called the androecium, consisting mainly of the anther and pollen, and a female organ, or gynoecium, with ovaries containing ovules (egg cells) for seed and fruit production. Fertilized ovules ripen into seeds, which are covered by fruits. A fruit is technically a ripened ovary.
According to the researchers, even under ideal conditions of pollination and fertilization, the tomato plant can develop only if pathways are mediated by microRNAs (small RNA molecules that regulate gene expression) and a hormone called gibberellin interact correctly to trigger initial ovary development.
Almost a decade ago, previous research by the same group demonstrated the effects of a microRNA called miR156 in regulating tomato floral meristem size and shape. Two genetic pathways were described, one involved in the initial establishment of the ovary as fruit and the other in forming seeds inside the fruit.
Read more at phys.org