Co-Authors:
Zelcer, A., Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcará Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel
Abstract:
Lycopersicon wild species are the most promising sources for genetic variability in tomato (L. esculentum) breeding programs. Although several nuclear traits originated in wild relatives have been introgressed into commercial cultivars, the potential germplasm „ resources are severely limited in many instances by unilateral incompatibility and hybrid sterility among these crosses. Therefore, somatic hybridization is emerging as a powerful technique for generation of novel combinations of nuclear and cytoplasmic genomes, previously unattainable by conventional breeding. The variability in Lycopersicon taxa (based on classical taxonomy criteria, or molecular analyses of cytoplasmic genomes) is reviewed, and the potential contribution of cybridization or asymmetric somatic hybridization between tomato and related species is discussed. © 1991 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.