Inheritance of Carotenoid Differences in Lycopersicon Esculentum Strains

Abstract

Studies of color variants of the tomato were made using absorption spectra of fresh aqueous acetone extract transferred to petroleum ether and of fractions adsorbed on a column. The studies concerning red (RRTT), yellow (rrTT) and tangerine (RRtt) indicate the following tentative conclusions. In the absence of R, the T gene is responsible for pigment production on a limited scale, particularly with respect to lycopene. In the absence of T, the R gene is responsible for large quantities of [zeta] , poly-cis [psi] -carotenes and pro-lycopene. In the presence of R and T, these pigments or their immediate precursors are converted to lycopene. The suggestion of Porter and Zscheile that [zeta]-carotene may be concerned in lycopene formation seems therefore entirely plausible. The open-chain structure recently postulated for [zeta] -carotene also supports this view.