Abstract
Genetic programming, in conjunction with advanced
analytical instruments, is a novel tool for the
investigation of complex biological systems at the
whole-tissue level. In this study, samples from tomato
fruit grown hydroponically under both high- and
low-salt conditions were analysed using
Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), with
the aim of identifying spectral and biochemical
features linked to salinity in the growth environment.
FTIR spectra of whole tissue extracts are not amenable
to direct visual analysis, so numerical modelling
methods were used to generate models capable of
classifying the samples based on their spectral
characteristics. Genetic programming (GP) provided
models with a better prediction accuracy to the
conventional data modelling methods used, whilst being
much easier to interpret in terms of the variables
used. Examination of the GP-derived models showed that
there were a small number of spectral regions that were
consistently being used. In particular, the spectral
region containing absorbances potentially due to a
cyanide/nitrile functional group was identified as
discriminatory. The explanatory power of the GP models
enabled a chemical interpretation of the biochemical
differences to be proposed. The combination of FTIR and
GP is therefore a powerful and novel analytical tool
that, in this study, improves our understanding of the
biochemistry of salt tolerance in tomato plants.
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