Our lab's research focuses on molecular breeding of several solanaceous species: eggplant, pepper and tomato. These three crops are of great economic importance in Turkey, which consistently ranks third in worldwide production of each species. Eggplant is an especially interesting crop as the term eggplant actually encompasses three species: Solanum melongena, S. macrocarpon and S. aethiopicum. S. melongena is the eggplant that most of us know while the other two species are African eggplants that are grown for their fruits and leaves. Our research efforts in eggplant are aimed at development of S. melongena as a molecular genetic system. To this end, we are exploiting the knowledge base gained over a century of genetic research in tomato. One goal is the development of a comprehensive, comparative linkage map of eggplant by the addition of markers to the current RFLP marker map. In collaboration with Keygene and Marie-Christine Daunay at INRA, 400 AFLP markers have been added to the map. We are also testing and mapping tomato microsatellite and COSII markers in an interspecific (S. linnaeanum x S. melongena) F2 population. SSR primers have been designed using the S. melongena EST library sequence information available on SGN. These primers are being tested for polymorphism in cultivated and wild eggplant species. In addition to their use for establishing a molecular map of eggplant that can be directly compared to the maps of other solanaceous species, these markers are being used to study genetic diversity in wild eggplant species and in Turkish cultivars that exhibit great morphological variation. Concurrent with map development, we are studying the inheritance and genetic control of disease resistances, glykoalkaloid production and antioxidant-related traits in eggplant.

Our research in pepper and tomato follows similar themes. We are examining the genetic control of multiple virus resistances in pepper as well as the antioxidant activity of Turkish pepper cultivars. Antioxidant activity of Turkish tomato cultivars and an advanced mapping population are also being determined. So far, two years of data have been collected for total antioxidant activity, lycopene, vitamin C and phenolics content for the tomato mapping population and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping is in progress. Other research in tomato is focused on the genetic control of salt tolerance in tomato and its relationship to the genetic control and activity of antioxidant compounds and enzymes.

In addition to these solanaceous species, our lab works with other crops of economic importance in Turkey. For example, we are collaborating with government and private breeding institutes to establish molecular breeding of cotton in Turkey. We are also interested in studying the genetic diversity contained in the Turkish National Germplasm Repository for crops including melon, sesame, opium poppy, safflower, flax, tobacco, beet and confectionary sunflower. Funding is provided by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey), DPT (The State Planning Organization of Turkey) and private companies.

Contact Information

Dr. Sami Doganlar
Department of Biology
Izmir Institute of Technology
Urla, Izmir Turkey
Phone: 90-232-750-7547
email: samidoganlar@iyte.edu.tr


Dr. Anne Frary
Department of Biology
Izmir Institute of Technology
Urla, Izmir Turkey
Phone: 90-232-750-7547
email: annefrary@iyte.edu.tr


Selected Publications

Frary, A., Doganlar, S., and Daunay, M.-C. (2006). Eggplant. In: C. Kole (ed.), Genome Mapping & Molecular Breeding in Plants, Volume V: Vegetables, Springer Publishing, Heidelberg, Germany, in press.

Frary, A., Xu, Y., Liu, J., Mitchell, S., Tedeschi, E., and Tanksley, S.D. (2005) Development of a set of PCR-based anchor markers encompassing the tomato genome and evaluation of their usefulness for genetics and breeding experiments. Theor Appl Genet 111:291-312.

Frary, A. and Van Eck, J. (2005) Organogenesis from transformed tomato explants. In: L. Pena (ed.), Transgenic Plants: Methods and Protocols (Methods in Molecular Biology Series), Humana Press, pp. 141-150.

Frary, A., Fulton, T., Zamir, D. and Tanksley, S. D. (2004) Advanced backcross analysis of a Lycopersicon esculentum x L. pennellii cross and identification of possible orthologs in the Solanaceae. Theor Appl Genet 108: 485-496.

Yates, H. E., Frary, A., Doganlar, S., Frampton, A., Eannetta, N., Uhlig, J. and Tanksley, S. D. (2004) Comparative fine mapping of fruit quality QTLs on chromosome 4 introgressions derived from two wild tomato species. Euphytica 135: 283-296.

Frary, A. and Doganlar, S. (2003) Comparative genetics of crop plant domestication and evolution. Turk. J. Agric. For. 27:59-69.

Frary, A., Doganlar, S., Daunay, C.M., and Tanksley, S.D. (2003) QTL analysis of morphological traits in eggplant and its implications for conservation of gene function during evolution of solanaceous species. Theor Appl Genet 107: 359-370.

Frary, A., Doganlar, S., Frampton, A., Fulton, T., Uhlig, J., Yates, H. and Tanksley, S.D. (2003) Fine mapping of quantitative trait loci for improved fruit characteristics from Lycopersicon chmielewskii chromosome 1. Genome 46:235-243.

Doganlar, S., Frary, A., Daunay, M. C., Lester, R. N. and Tanksley, S. D. (2002) A comparative genetic linkage map of eggplant (Solanum melongena) and its implications for genome evolution in the Solanaceae. Genetics 161:1697-1711.

Doganlar, S., Frary, A., Daunay, M. C., Lester, R. N. and Tanksley, S. D. (2002) Conservation of gene function in the Solanaceae as revealed by comparative mapping of domestication traits in eggplant. Genetics 161:1713-1726.