Solanum pimpinellifolium
{{Short description|Ancestral Species of tomato}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Botanisk tidsskrift (17645191178).jpg
|genus = Solanum
|species = pimpinellifolium
|authority = L., 1755{{cite web|url=https://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/4084|work=Uniprot Taxonomy|title=Species Solanum pimpinellifolium (Currant tomato) (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium)|access-date=January 28, 2011}}
|synonyms = Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium (L.) Mill.
Lycopersicon racemigerum Lange
|synonyms_ref = {{GRIN | access-date=2010-01-12}}
}}
Solanum pimpinellifolium, commonly known as the currant tomato{{PLANTS|id=SOPI7|taxon=Solanum pimpinellifolium|access-date=17 November 2015}} or pimp, is a wild species of tomato{{cite web|url=http://solgenomics.net/about/solanum_nomenclature.pl|work=Sol Genomics|title=New nomenclature for lycopersicon|access-date=February 17, 2013}}, from {{cite journal|last1=Spooner|first1=D.M.|first2=I.E.|last2=Peralta|first3=S.|last3=Knapp|title=AFLP phylogeny of wild tomatoes [Solanum L. section Lycopersicon (Mill.) Wettst. subsection Lycopersicon ]|journal=Taxon}} native to Ecuador and Peru but naturalized elsewhere, such as the Galápagos Islands. Its small fruits are edible, and it is commonly grown in gardens as an heirloom tomato,{{cite web|url=http://www.tomatocasual.com/2008/04/18/smallest-tomato-the-currant-tomato-and-other-small-wonders|work=Tomato Casual|title=Smallest Tomato: The Currant Tomato and other Small Wonders|access-date=February 18, 2013|archive-date=June 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611083258/http://www.tomatocasual.com/2008/04/18/smallest-tomato-the-currant-tomato-and-other-small-wonders/|url-status=dead}} although it is considered to be wild{{cite journal |last1=Bai |first1=Y. |last2=Lindhout |first2=P. |year=2007 |title=Domestication and breeding of tomatoes: what have we gained and what can we gain in the future? |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=100 |issue=5 |pages=1085–1094 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcm150 |pmc=2759208 |pmid=17717024}} rather than domesticated as is the commonly cultivated tomato species Solanum lycopersicum. Its genome was sequenced in 2012.{{cite journal|title=The tomato genome sequence provides insights into fleshy fruit evolution|journal=Nature|doi=10.1038/nature11119|author=The Tomato Genome Consortium|date=31 May 2012|volume=485|pages=635–641|pmid=22660326|issue=7400|pmc=3378239|bibcode=2012Natur.485..635T}}
Breeding purposes
It will hybridize with common domestic tomatoes.{{cite web|url=http://solgenomics.net/chado/organism.pl?organism_id=770|work=Sol Genomics|title=Species: Solanum pimpinellifolium|access-date=January 28, 2011}} There are annual, biennial, and perennial varieties.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/solanaceaesource/taxonomy/description-detail.jsp?spnumber=4614|work=Natural History Museum|title=Solanaceae Source, Solanum pimpinellifolium L., Cent. Pl. 1: 8. 1755. Type: Cultivated in Uppsala, Anon. (lectotype, LINN 248.15 [BH neg. 6802], designated by Knapp & Jarvis 1990)|access-date=January 28, 2011}} Solanum pimpinellifolium is important in tomato breeding.
Its relatedness to tomatoes{{cite journal |last1=Caicedo |first1=AL |last2=Schaal |first2=BA |date=Jul 2004 |title=Population structure and phylogeography of Solanum pimpinellifolium inferred from a nuclear gene. |journal=Mol Ecol |volume=13 |issue=7 |pages=1871–82 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02191.x |pmid=15189210 |s2cid=12460436|doi-access=free |bibcode=2004MolEc..13.1871C }} and ability to freely cross with them has allowed it to be used for the introduction of disease resistance traits in tomato varieties, as well as in the study of the genetic control of tomato traits such as fruit shape and size. It has higher amounts of lycopene, vitamin C, and phenolic acids, as well as a higher antioxidant capacity than Solanum lycopersicum.{{Cite journal |last=Gürbüz Çolak |first=Nergiz |date=March 2020 |title=Mapping of quantitative trait loci for antioxidant molecules in tomato fruit: Carotenoids, vitamins C and E, glutathione and phenolic acids |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.110393 |journal=Plant Science |volume=292 |page=110393 |doi=10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.110393 |pmid=32005398 |bibcode=2020PlnSc.29210393G |via=Elsevier Science Direct |s2cid=210998191|hdl=11147/8865 |hdl-access=free }} Its 900 Mb genome differs from the tomato at 0.6% of base pairs; in comparison, they both differ from the potato (from which they diverged 7.3 million years ago) at 8% of bases.{{Cite news |title=Taking Tomatoes Back to Their Tasty Roots |newspaper=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126907678}}
Considered the ancestor of domesticated tomatoes, it is valued for supplementing the limited gene pool of the domestic tomato. Due to agricultural development, the wild currant tomato is becoming less prevalent in the native range of northern Peru and southern Ecuador. In addition, seed collection is hampered by issues with the Convention on Biological Diversity.{{explain|date=November 2023}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/why-wild-tiny-pimp-tomato-so-important-180955911/?no-ist|title=Why is This Wild, Pea-Sized Tomato So Important?|work=Smithsonian Magazine}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q143182}}
Category:Plants described in 1755
Category:Crops originating from Ecuador
Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Solanales-stub}}