Inflorescence development in tomato: linking gene function with a zigzag model

Tomato is a major crop plant and several mutants have been selected for breeding but also for isolating important genes that regulate flowering and sympodial growth.

We developed a kinetic model of the tomato inflorescence development. We exploited the model to explore the diversity of morphotypes that could be generated and matched them with existing mutant phenotypes. This approach, focused on the development of the primary inflorescence, allowed us to elaborate on the genetic regulation of the kinetic model of inflorescence development.