Members Present:
John Stommel (Chair)* New members approved at this meeting
Additional Participants:
Fred Angel, Fernando Liaoza, John Prendergast, Felix,
Jeff Ziscke, Joanne Labate, Remo Ludergnani, Sylvaine
Meeting was called to order at 7:50 pm and the minutes from the 2001 meeting in Guatemala were approved.
USDA, ARS, Geneva curator report: L. Robertson
- A final L. esculentum descriptor list has been submitted to GRIN.
- 401 accession fruit or leaf images have been uploaded to GRIN. R. Heisey
noted discrepancies between photos and descriptors at GRIN. Larry indicated
that the photos are correct and descriptor listings warrant editing.
- Seed increases of 61 unique NCGRP (formerly NSSL) accessions have been initiated
and PI numbers requested. 140 remaining accessions unique to NCGRP will be
increased in 2004 and be made available for distribution.
-An accession series, T001 – T171 originating from Oklahoma and dated
through 1969, has been received. No passport information is available.
- Core Collection: 140 accessions for the L. esculentum core have been increased
for distribution. Viable seed of three of the originally selected lines is
unavailable. A. Stoner described the L. esculentum core as a collection of
cultivated tomato germplasm representative of open-pollinated cultivars from
public and private breeding programs that broadly represents the diversity
within cultivated L. esculentum and the larger Geneva collection. It may serve
as a historical record of early breeding programs. Much of this material contributed
to the development of modern day cultivars. It is recommended that additional
material be added or deleted as further genetic characterization of accessions
occurs. The core serves as an entry point for identification or characterization
of attributes in the larger collection. D. Francis commented that additional
cores might be assembled to reflect, for example, geographic distribution of
L. esculentum. He suggested that European material is under represented. R.
Heisey suggested considering newer material, such as ‘Piedmont’.
R. Heisey volunteered to contact F. Angel, D. Francis, R. Gardner, J. Prendergast,
and J. Scott to assemble a supplementary list of material for consideration
in the core. J. Stommel cautioned that new varieties are typically protected
and hence are inappropriate for the collection. The committee agreed that the
new L. esculentum core list was an excellent start and that the core collection
should be updated as new information and uses develop.
- The tomatillo collection is curated at Geneva. The CGC discussed the merit
of adding tomatillo to the Tomato CGCs responsibilities. Approximately 70%
of the requests for tomatillo germplasm are domestic. International distributions
have been limited due in part to permit requirements. The CGC does not believe
that adequate expertise exists on the committee to represent tomatillo and
declined assuming responsibilities for the collection until sufficient need
arises.
- The committee briefly discussed usage of Solanum versus Lycopersicon taxonomic
nomenclature and agreed to continue use of Lycopersicon. J. Stommel noted the
opportunity to invite D. Spooner, a proponent of adopting Solanum, to present
his findings to the Tomato Breeders Roundtable.
Tomato Genetics Resource Center report: R. Chetelat
- A complete TGRC report was distributed prior to the CGC meeting.
- Roger noted that Center’s lab facilities have been upgraded. Greenhouse
and other costs have been rising and are exacerbated by current California
budgetary problems. Notable new acquisitions included a set of 94 L. pimpinellifolium backcross recombinant inbred lines and multigenic combinations submitted by
D. Zamir.
- Distributions remain high and are indicative of the importance of the collection.
An increasing number of countries now require phytosanitary certificates and/or
import permits. A bar coding system is needed to facilitate inventory and shipment
record keeping.
- An updated stock list will be published in the 2003 Tomato Genetics Cooperative
Report.
GRIN/TGRC databases: A. Stoner
- Discussions to better coordinate GRIN and TGRC databases were initiated in
2002. Current efforts are focused on establishing better links between the
databases. Elements unique to the respective databases hinder creation of
a single database. XML-based links will limit the need for cumbersome manual
updates of GRIN data to TGRC and facilitate simultaneous searches of the
two databases.
New PGRU initiative: J. Labate
- J. Labate presented plans to identify and utilize SNPs for characterization
of the tomato collection at Geneva. The project will initially utilize 30
loci and focus on the L. esculentum core collection and 458 PI species accessions.
- D. Francis expressed concern that the USDA project initiated by Joanne was
competitive with existing state research programs and that the initial effort
was focused on a limited number of genes.
- An analogous effort using SSRs was conducted by R. Chetelat to characterize
L. chilense accessions.
L. esculentum collection management:
Approximately 1200 potential duplicate accessions are present in the USDA collection
at Geneva. This is a recurring discussion for the CGC. A. Stoner has agreed
to review the passport information in an effort to make initial recommendations
to eliminate duplicate accessions. L. Robertson has agreed to supply an updated
duplicates list to the CGC and J. Stommel and A. Stoner will assign grow-out
responsibilities for relevant accessions to committee volunteers. Criteria
for accession retention will be contingent upon passport information, prior
accession usage, and grow-out findings. Volunteers to grow-out: Scott, Stommel,
Chetelat, Gardner, Barineau, Francis, Stein, Thome, Peters, Ludergnani, Angel,
Ozminkowski
Germplasm evaluation and exploration proposals: J. Stommel
- USDA had not yet finalized funding decisions for CGC germplasm evaluation
proposals. The CGC forwarded three proposals for funding consideration: Evaluation
of the L. hirsutum core collection for resistance to bacterial spot and bacterial
canker; Dave Francis, Ohio State University (CGC rank: 48 points); Screening
the Lycopersicon peruvianum germplasm collection for resistance to isolates
of tomato spotted wilt virus that overcome the tomato Sw-5 TSWV resistance
gene; Mikel Stevens, Brigham Young University (CGC rank: 46 points); Evaluation
of tomato germplasm for resistance to Fusarium foot rot; Mike Davis, University
of California (CGC rank: 28 points). (Postscript to Park City meeting: USDA
awarded $16,000 in funds to support the Mikel Stevens proposal. Funds for
individual proposals submitted for FY2003 funding were capped at $16,000-$18,000
and the D. Francis proposal was deemed not feasible at the reduced funding
level. Funding for FY2004 proposals will also be capped at $16,000-$18,000).
- Improved protocols are often needed to facilitate screening for a particular
attribute. Proposals may focus on methods development. J. Stommel noted the
opportunity to evaluate introgression lines that are available in NPGS collections.
- A. Stoner noted that increased funding for tomato germplasm was unlikely
unless funding for the larger USDA germplasm evaluation program was increased.
- A final report was submitted by Mike Davis detailing results from his 2002-funded
proposal for evaluation of tomato germplasm resistance to Fusarium foot rot.
The results will be uploaded by TGRC staff to the TGRC database.
- Funds are again available for funding tomato exploration proposals. The proposal
deadline is July 3, 2003.
CGC business / membership:
- Many of the CGCs have been lax in updating their reports. The Tomato CGC
Report was last updated in 1996. J. Stommel will coordinate revision and
submit an updated report to A. Stoner.
- J. Stommel rotates off as chair and M. Mutschler assumes chair duties in
2004. D. Francis elected vice-chair for 2004. Both 3-year terms.
- Randy Gardner, Susan Peters, Cathy Thome, Ray Volin, and David Francis have
been serving as ad hoc members since the 2001 Antigua meeting. The CGC formally
approved their appointments at the Park City meeting.
- Additional members are needed to represent West coast processing. Suggested
individuals were T. Beck-Bunn, P. Himmel, G. Pape, and D. Long. New members
will be confirmed and ratified via e-mail to CGC members prior to the next
meeting.
Meeting adjourned 10:15 pm.