Tomato Fruit Shape Analysis Using Morphometric and Morphology Attributes Implemented in Tomato Analyzer Software Program

Abstract

Reliable analysis of plant traits depends on the accuracy of scoring the phenotype. We report here on the efficacy of two methods in the detection of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling fruit morphology in three segregating tomato (Solanum spp.) F2 populations using the software program, Tomato Analyzer. The first method uses fruit morphology attributes such as fruit shape index, blockiness, pear shape, indentation area, and angles of the fruit along the boundary. The second method uses morphometric points to quantify shape. The morphometric data were subjected to principle components analysis (PCA). QTL that control the fruit morphology attributes and the morphometric PCA were identified that revealed that the methods were comparable in that they resulted in nearly identical loci. Novel attributes were added to Tomato Analyzer that improved versatility of the program in measuring additional morphological features of fruit. We demonstrated that these novel attributes permitted identification of QTL controlling the traits.