Solanum lycopersicum
Tomato
Sterling Burd
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Figure 1. Tomatoes. Image from: https://www.gardenmyths.com/growing-tomatoes-removing-bottom-leaves/
Introduction:
A tomato fruit production is globally important with an annual production of 170 million tons (Science Direct) .
Solanum lycopersicum is the scientific name for a Tomato.
Primary Literature article: Bioactive compounds in cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum var. Cerasiforme): Cultivation techniques classification by multivariate analysis.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Solanales
Suborder: Asteridae
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Solanum L.
Species: Solanum lycopersicum
With the Kingdom of the organism being Plantae, the tomato is eukaryotic as well as being multicellular. The tomato contains a bright red color (when ready) as well as green leaves and a stem. The tomato plant itself can grow between 20 - 30 tomatoes all at the same time (Garden Guide).
Background:
On average, tomatoes can grow to be around 2-5 cm (1½-2") in size (Lynch, Matthew).
They are usually red, orange, green or yellow. They vary in shape from almost spherical to oval and elongate to pear-shaped. Each fruit contains at least two cells of small seeds surrounded by jellylike pulp (Britannica).
Tomato flavor is commonly described as sweet, tart, tangy or balanced. Tomato flavor is sometimes also described as “classic tomato flavor” or “old-fashioned tomato flavor.” And the flavor of some tomatoes is described as mild or bland. Sugars in the tomato—mainly fructose and glucose—result in a sweet flavor (Albert, Stephen).
Figure 2. Types of Tomatoes. Image from: https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2020-04-30-different-types-tomatoes
The major plastid‐containing cells of the tomato fruit are pericarp cells, which are large vacuolated cells that form a layer several millimetres thick immediately internal to the epidermis of the fruit. In green fruit these pericarp cells are full of chloroplasts (PMC).
The fruit of the tomato plant is composed of elongated tomato cells filled with organelles called chromoplasts (plastids). These plastids scattered throughout the cell are rich in nutrients, particularly protein (33%) and lipids (20%) (PubMed).
The tomato defense system keeps tabs on Xanthomonas and other bacteria with immune receptors that chemically detect flagella, the long whip-like tail structures that allow bacteria to move or “swim” through soil and plant tissues (Quinn, Lauren).
Sure, the use of fertilizers are there to help feed and make the tomatoes grow but, they can also create their own food. So therefore, that makes tomatoes a producer.
Tomatoes are self-pollinating, meaning they have flowers that contain both the male and female parts, so more than one plant is not needed for reproduction. The pollen falls within the flower to pollinate itself (Bonnie Plants).
The specific information needed to know in order to understand this experiment would be the types of trace the scientists used to conduct this experiment.
*Hydroponic trace - relating to or involving hydroponics, the process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid.
*Organic trace - involving production without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents.
*Conventional trace - one that is usually used or that has been in use for a long time.
Explanation of topics or concepts:
*Biogenic Amine - low molecular weight organic nitrogen compounds.
*Derivatization - the process of chemically altering an analyte or analytes.
*Phenolic Compounds - chemical compounds.
*In-house Validation - the run effect is studied by conducting a designed experiment with duplicated analysis of an appropriate material in a number of separate runs.
Habitat, Food and Interactions with other Organisms:
Tomatoes started growing in Mexico, Central America and Western South America. As time went on, the fruit started to become grown worldwide (Zhan, Wenjie and Wang, Yuhan).
The Solanum lycopersicum is fed by something called Tomato Fertilizer. The tomato fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that helps the tomato grow (Buiano, Madeline). Tomatoes are also able to create their own food.
Tomato plants are affected by different pathogens such as viruses, viroids, fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, and nematodes, that reduce yield and affect product quality (PMC). Tomatoes are able to communicate with each other by passing electrical signals to each other through the Mycorrhizal network in the soil making them interact with other tomato plants (Colvine, Sophie).
Figure 3. Tomato Fertilizer. Image from: https://ottenbros.com/shop-ottenbros/product/miracle-gro-shake-nfeed-4-5/
Data Analysis:
For the experiment that the scientists did, they wanted to see if certain BA’s and certain antioxidants in a regular tomato vs a cherry tomato presented a major concentration of phenolic compounds (Primary Source).
For this experiment there were 42 samples for the training set, 65 for the validation set, and 21 for the test set (Primary Source).
The graph to the right are the results. Graph A: Non – colored graph (standard mixture solution). Graph B: Colored graph (hydroponic (blue trace), organic (green trace), and conventional (red trace)) (Primary Source).
This graph shows that each tested tomato had a different reaction to the solutions causing one to be higher then the other at certain points (Primary Source).
They way the scientists linked the evidence to the conclusions was by going off of their data collected. When the experiment was over, they determined that the regular tomato had more of a reaction than the cherry tomato making the cherry tomato better for humans to consume.
Figure 4. Graph for Results. Image from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814621006361
Conclusion:
This study determined BAs and Antioxidants in Solanum Lycopersicum var. Cerasiforme coming from hydroponic, organic, and conventional cultivations. The hydroponic tomatoes presented a major concentration of phenolic compounds (Science Direct). Multivariate analyses then explored the hypothesis to employ BAs and Antioxidants as potential markers of cultivation authenticity of the analyzed cherry tomatoes (Primary Source).
The data was also confirmed by Total BAs that the BA Index that in hydroponic samples result higher than the conventional and organic ones (Primary Source).
It was important to conduct this experiment because the final outcome of these tomatoes needed to be determined by seeing which one would be better for fresh marketing or processing better quality tomatoes (Primary Source).
Therefore, when picking tomatoes... a regular cherry tomato should be the go to.
Figure 5. Cherry Tomatoes. Image from: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/cherry-tomatoes-isolated-on-white-background-gm1154803469-314157469
(Main) References:
panelMattiaRapaPersonEnvelope, Salvatore Ciano, Roberto Ruggieri, Giuliana Vinci, et al. “Bioactive Compounds in Cherry Tomatoes (Solanum Lycopersicum Var. Cerasiforme): Cultivation Techniques Classification by Multivariate Analysis.” Food Chemistry, Elsevier, 17 Mar. 2021, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814621006361.
Safety Assessment of Transgenic Organisms in the Environment. “Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum) | Safety Assessment of Transgenic ...” Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum), 2017, https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264279728-6-en.pdf?expires=1641731879&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=FD95C33D0C4411CA3D5609C113DD4550.
Extra References:
Aaron Smith. “Mexican Tomatoes Are Winning the American Market.” Aaron Smith, 27 Nov. 2021, https://asmith.ucdavis.edu/news/mexican-tomatoes-are-winning-american-domestic-markets.
Albert, Stephen. “Tomato Flavor Explained.” Harvest to Table, Harvest to Table, 22 Apr. 2022, https://harvesttotable.com/tomato-flavor-explained/#:~:text=Tomato%20flavor%20is%20commonly%20described,result%20in%20a%20sweet%20flavor.
Bonnie Plants. “Tomato Plants Not Setting Fruit? Here's Why.” Bonnie Plants, Bonnie Plants, 12 July 2011, https://bonnieplants.com/blogs/garden-fundamentals/tomato-plants-not-setting-fruit-heres-why.
Campos, Maria Doroteia, et al. “High Throughput Sequencing Unravels Tomato-Pathogen Interactions towards a Sustainable Plant Breeding.” Horticulture Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Aug. 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8325677/.
December 20, 2021 Lauren Quinn Agriculture Crops Research. “College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.” Microbe Sneaks Past Tomato Defense System, Advances Evolutionary Battle | College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences | UIUC, 20 Dec. 2021, https://aces.illinois.edu/news/microbe-sneaks-past-tomato-defense-system-advances-evolutionary-battle.
gardengu_admin. “How Many Tomatoes Do You Get from One Plant?” Growing Life Organic, 23 Jan. 2023, https://gardenguide4all.com/how-many-tomatoes-do-you-get-from-one-plant/.
Madeline Buiano, Staff Writer at Martha Stewart By Madeline Buiano December 30. “Consider This Your Complete Guide to Tomato Fertilizer.” Martha Stewart, https://www.marthastewart.com/8186350/tomato-fertilizer-tips.
MC;, Hansen LU;Chiu. “Isolation and Composition of Chromoplasts from Tomatoes.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16104784/.
“News.” Research: Tomato Plants Communicate by Electric Signals - Tomato News, https://www.tomatonews.com/en/research-tomato-plants-communicate-by-electric-signals_2_1088.html.
Pyke, Kevin A, and Caroline A Howells. “Plastid and Stromule Morphogenesis in Tomato.” Annals of Botany, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2002, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4240451/.
“Solanum Lycopersicum.” Solanum Lycopersicum - an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/solanum-lycopersicum#:~:text=Current%20world%20production%20is%20about,the%20most%20profitable%20vegetable%20crops.
“Tomato.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/plant/tomato.
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