Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a major crop plant and a model system for fruit development. Solanum is one of the largest angiosperm genera(1) and includes annual and perennial plants from diverse habitats. Here we present a high-quality genome sequence of domesticated tomato, a draft sequence of its closest wild relative, Solanum pimpinellifolium(2), and compare them to each other and to the potato genome (Solanum tuberosum). The two tomato genomes show only 0.6% nucleotide divergence and signs of recent admixture, but show more than 8% divergence from potato, with nine large and several smaller inversions. In contrast to Arabidopsis, but similar to soybean, tomato and potato small RNAs map predominantly to gene-rich chromosomal regions, including gene promoters. The Solanum lineage has experienced two consecutive genome triplications: one that is ancient and shared with rosids, and a more recent one. These triplications set the stage for the neofunctionalization of genes controlling fruit characteristics, such as colour and fleshiness

Crop domestication frequently began with the selection of plants that did not naturally shed ripe fruits or seeds. The reduction in grain shattering that led to cereal domestication involved genetic loci of large effect. The molecular basis of this key domestication transition, however, remains unknown. Here we show that human selection of an amino acid substitution in the predicted DNA binding domain encoded by a gene of previously unknown function was primarily responsible for the reduction of grain shattering in rice domestication. The substitution undermined the gene function necessary for the normal development of an abscission layer that controls the separation of a grain from the pedicel.

npg Jasmonic acid (JA) is an important phytohormone that regulates plant defense responses against herbivore attack, pathogen infection and mechanical wounding. In this report, we provided biochemical and genetic evidence to show that the Arabidopsis thaliana NAC family proteins ANAC019 and ANAC055 might function as transcription activators to regulate JA-induced expression of defense genes. The role of the two NAC genes in JA signaling was examined with the anac019 anac055 double mutant and with transgenic plants overexpressing ANAC019 or ANAC055. The anac019 anac055 double mutant plants showed attenuated JA-induced VEGETATIVE STORAGE PROTEIN1 (VSP1) and LIPOXYGENASE2 (LOX2) expression, whereas transgenic plants overexpressing the two NAC genes showed enhanced JA-induced VSP1 and LOX2 expression. That the JA-induced expression of the two NAC genes depends on the function of COI1 and AtMYC2, together with the finding that overexpression of ANAC019 partially rescued the JA-related phenotype of the atmyc2-2 mutant, has led us to a hypothesis that the two NAC proteins act downstream of AtMYC2 to regulate JA-signaled defense responses. Further evidence to substantiate this idea comes from the observation that the response of the anac019 anac055 double mutant to a necrotrophic fungus showed high similarity to that of the atmyc2-2 mutant.