Inheritance of Carotenoid Differences in Lycopersicon Esculentum Strains

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Abstract
Studies of color variants of the tomato were made using absorption spectra of fresh aqueous acetone extract transferred to petroleum ether and of fractions adsorbed on a column. The studies concerning red (RRTT), yellow (rrTT) and tangerine (RRtt) indicate the following tentative conclusions. In the absence of R, the T gene is responsible for pigment production on a limited scale, particularly with respect to lycopene. In the absence of T, the R gene is responsible for large quantities of [zeta] , poly-cis [psi] -carotenes and pro-lycopene. In the presence of R and T, these pigments or their immediate precursors are converted to lycopene. The suggestion of Porter and Zscheile that [zeta]-carotene may be concerned in lycopene formation seems therefore entirely plausible. The open-chain structure recently postulated for [zeta] -carotene also supports this view.

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