Doomsday Tomato Seed

Solanum315 · August 19, 2019

If you could have one seed to restart all tomatoes, what would be the parentage? I gave it some thought and decided it would be the F1 cross of two F1 crosses, namely:

(Black From Tula x Ildi) X (German Queen x Mexico Midget)

I guess I could go back further and put some other vareities in as F2 and F3 ancestors but I think those four varieties could hypothetically lead to almost everything I would want in a tomato.

AlittleSalt · August 19, 2019

If I had one seed and my climate was the same as it now - it would be Porter because it can be eaten fresh, canned, sauced, etc.

Cole_Robbie · August 19, 2019

Someone asked this question once before, and Carolyn answered that if we had the wild varieties that humans first domesticated, then given enough time, everything could be bred out again. I thought that was a great answer.

Genetics is not my expertise, but I wonder what could be done with a CRISPR editor. I don't know if the technology is there yet, but I think one tomato of any variety might contain the genes to make all the other tomatoes.

Solanum315 · August 19, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

If I had one seed and my climate was the same as it now - it would be Porter because it can be eaten fresh, canned, sauced, etc.

Interesting choice. I will have to look up Porter. Good productivity?

AlittleSalt · August 20, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solanum315

Interesting choice. I will have to look up Porter. Good productivity?

Excellent productivity. It is a variety that you don't want to overwater. Developed in Stephenville, Texas in the 1920s to grow in North Central and Central Texas weather conditions.

bower · August 20, 2019

You can put me in the four parent cross camp. I can't say what four parents because I already have a bias, working with at least one of those, and very happy with the variety produced.

Aside from the genetic diversity level, as I understand it you have a better chance of breaking linkages and producing something unusual in a cross between two F1's or unstable generations.
For maximum diversity, you could say, lets have a beef, a heart, and parents with other exemplary traits that are important to your situation (cold tolerance, heat setting, disease resistance, or other survival trait). At least one cherry or small fruit in the mix because we all know they endure extremes and produce when others don't.

Gotta have sweet, gotta have umami, gotta have tang if you're going to have all tomato tastes in the bag. Gotta have yellow, black, and pink (or purple) to get all the colors. OMG I forgot orange. You may need more than four to capture all the orange genetics! No joke.
CRISPR is cool but nature is cooler. The ability to adapt, is the opposite of CRISPR.
Besides the 4 parent crosses, I would recommend stressed fruit crosses, for maximum chance of a genetic leap. Late crosses when it's too cold. Midseason crosses when it's too hot. Nature provides the motivation for spontaneous change. Tomatoes are a goldilocks fruit, motivational exercises are a good thing.

August 19, 2019	#1
Solanum315 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: New York Posts: 244	Doomsday Tomato Seed If you could have one seed to restart all tomatoes, what would be the parentage? I gave it some thought and decided it would be the F1 cross of two F1 crosses, namely: (Black From Tula x Ildi) X (German Queen x Mexico Midget) I guess I could go back further and put some other vareities in as F2 and F3 ancestors but I think those four varieties could hypothetically lead to almost everything I would want in a tomato. __________________ Scott http://worldtomatoes.blogspot.com/

August 19, 2019	#2
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	If I had one seed and my climate was the same as it now - it would be Porter because it can be eaten fresh, canned, sauced, etc.

August 19, 2019	#3
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Someone asked this question once before, and Carolyn answered that if we had the wild varieties that humans first domesticated, then given enough time, everything could be bred out again. I thought that was a great answer. Genetics is not my expertise, but I wonder what could be done with a CRISPR editor. I don't know if the technology is there yet, but I think one tomato of any variety might contain the genes to make all the other tomatoes.

August 20, 2019	#6
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	You can put me in the four parent cross camp. I can't say what four parents because I already have a bias, working with at least one of those, and very happy with the variety produced. Aside from the genetic diversity level, as I understand it you have a better chance of breaking linkages and producing something unusual in a cross between two F1's or unstable generations. For maximum diversity, you could say, lets have a beef, a heart, and parents with other exemplary traits that are important to your situation (cold tolerance, heat setting, disease resistance, or other survival trait). At least one cherry or small fruit in the mix because we all know they endure extremes and produce when others don't. Gotta have sweet, gotta have umami, gotta have tang if you're going to have all tomato tastes in the bag. Gotta have yellow, black, and pink (or purple) to get all the colors. OMG I forgot orange. You may need more than four to capture all the orange genetics! No joke. CRISPR is cool but nature is cooler. The ability to adapt, is the opposite of CRISPR. Besides the 4 parent crosses, I would recommend stressed fruit crosses, for maximum chance of a genetic leap. Late crosses when it's too cold. Midseason crosses when it's too hot. Nature provides the motivation for spontaneous change. Tomatoes are a goldilocks fruit, motivational exercises are a good thing.