An integrated view of quantitative trait variation using tomato interspecific introgression lines.

Resolving natural phenotypic variation into genetic and molecular components is a major objective in biology. Over the past decade, tomato interspecific introgression lines (ILs), each carrying a single 'exotic' chromosome segment from a wild species, have exposed thousands of quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting plant adaptation, morphology, yield, metabolism, and gene expression. QTL for fruit size and sugar composition were isolated by map-based cloning, while others were successfully implemented in marker-assisted breeding programs. More recently, integrating the multitude of IL-QTL into a single database has unraveled some unifying principles about the architecture of complex traits in plants.