Morphological analysis of cold-tolerant tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) plants expressing CBF3 gene

Abstract

This research endeavor sought to assess the morphological attributes of transgenic tomato plants expressing the AtCBF3 gene in comparison to their non-transgenic (NT) counterparts under standard growth conditions. The study focused on three distinct tomato lines (Rio Grande, Moneymaker, and Roma) evaluating a range of characteristics. The findings revealed that transgenic plants carrying the AtCBF3 gene exhibited no statistically significant variations in parameters such as plant height, leaf count, fresh weight, dry weight, root length, days to flowering, and flower count when compared to their non-transgenic counterparts. However, remarkable differences were evident among the various genotypes concerning these morphological traits. Transgenic plants generally exhibited comparable or slightly reduced performance in terms of plant height, fresh weight, and number of flowers compared to NT plants. Notably, transgenic Rio Grande showed the highest values for plant height, root length, and number of flowers. Additionally, transgenic plants exhibited non-significant differences in first fruit set, number of fruit per plant, fruit diameter, fruit mean weight, and number of seeds per fruit compared to NT plants. The study concludes that under normal conditions, the AtCBF3 gene driven by the lip9 promoter did not significantly influence various morpho-agronomical and yield parameters in tomato plants. The study provides insights into the morphological characteristics of transgenic tomato plants expressing the AtCBF3 gene emphasizing the importance of considering genotypic variations in transgenic crops. The implications of the cold-inducible nature of the promoter and the need for further investigations into specific gene-environment interactions are highlighted. © 2019 The Author(s)