Metabolomic and proteomic characterization of tomato traits towards the development of food safety-improved tomato (FIT) cultivars

The long-term goal of this project is to develop food safety-improved tomato (FIT) cultivars that possess inherently reduced susceptibility to S. enterica colonization. Tomato cultivar improvement will be based on identified metabolic and physiological traits that confer an enhanced, inherent capacity to restrict Salmonella establishment and physical interactions that limit Salmonella attachment/colonization to tomato fruit.As such our objectives are to:Use a metabolomics approach to identify landrace and contemporary tomato cultivars of Solanum lycopersicum var. lycopersicum and wild relatives that exhibit reduced susceptibility to Salmonella enterica colonization of fruit.Use an integrated proteomic and transcriptomic approach to investigate the plant response to Salmonella attachment/colonization on the fruit surface of select cultivars, and evaluate cultivar differences in this interaction.In collaboration with USDA's 'Grand Challenge' program focused on cropping systems for tomato in protected environments, we will perform pre-breeding activities aimed at developing new, improved tomato cultivars with reduced susceptibility to Salmonella colonization.