CHARACTERIZATION OF TRICHOMES IN THE LYCOPERSICON SPECIES USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY.

In the past few years, leaf trichomes of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and related wild species have received considerable attention due to their potential role in insect resistance. However, the last complete characterization of all 7 trichome types was by Luckwill in 1943, before the advent of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Since that time, the taxonomic designations of the genus have been modified, expanding from 6 species to 9. The purpose of this work was to use SEM to observe and record trichome types from the presently accepted Lycopersicon species, and determin etheir species specific distribution. Studies have shown variation within trichome type due to number of cells per trichome, and base and surface characteristics.