Cultivar · Tomato cultivar
Micro-Tom
Micro-Tom is a miniature dwarf tomato released by the University of Florida in 1989 as an ornamental type, later adopted worldwide as a compact model system for tomato research.
Record
Cultivar / variety- Variety of
- Tomato
- Botanical taxon
- Solanum lycopersicum
- Type
- Miniature dwarf cultivar (widely used as a model line)
- Breeding method
- Bred cultivar (selection combining dwarfing mutations)
- Origin
- United States
- Released
- 1989
- Breeder / institution
- University of Florida (Agricultural Experiment Station)
- Registry status
- Historical
- Registries
- USDA GRIN — National Plant Germplasm System · United States · as of 2026-07-12Cited at the collection level for tomato germplasm and cultivar nomenclature; no specific accession identifier is asserted.
- Adaptation
- A very small dwarf plant well suited to growth chambers, greenhouses, and containers; it is grown in controlled conditions far more than in the open field.
- Intended use
- Research model system, Originally released as a miniature ornamental / container tomato
Registry listing or variety protection is jurisdiction- and date-specific and does not by itself indicate current commercial availability, universal cultivation approval, patent status, or a recommendation.
Micro-Tom is a miniature dwarf tomato originally released by the University of Florida in 1989 as a small ornamental and container plant. Its very compact size and short life cycle later made it a widely used model system for tomato genetics, physiology, and molecular biology.
The plant’s small stature comes from combining dwarfing mutations, which allow many individuals to be grown in a small space under controlled conditions. This practicality, rather than any commercial fruit value, is why Micro-Tom is so widely cultivated in research settings.
Identity and type
Micro-Tom is characterized by an extremely compact, determinate dwarf habit and a short generation time. These features let researchers raise large numbers of plants in growth chambers and small greenhouse areas, which is central to its role as a laboratory model.
- Parent crop
- Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
- Growth habit
- Determinate dwarf (miniature)
- Origin
- University of Florida, released 1989
- Primary use
- Research model system; originally ornamental
Use as a model system
Because of its size, speed, and amenability to transformation, Micro-Tom has been adopted internationally as a reference background for tomato research, including studies of fruit development, hormones, and gene function. Many mutant and transgenic lines have been produced in this background.
Relationships
Evidence-backed connections in the knowledge graph.
Related topics
Scope & limitations
Geographic scope: Originating at the University of Florida and now used in research laboratories worldwide; it is a controlled-environment plant rather than a field crop.
Climate context: Grown chiefly under controlled conditions in growth chambers and greenhouses because of its dwarf habit and short cycle.
- Micro-Tom is a research and ornamental line, so its compact traits do not reflect the behaviour of commercial field or greenhouse tomatoes.
- Its dwarf phenotype results from specific mutations, meaning physiological findings in this background are not always directly transferable to standard cultivars.
- It is distributed mainly through research germplasm channels, and precise seed sources can differ between laboratories.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- [1]GRIN-Global / National Plant Germplasm System (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Cited for: Tomato germplasm and cultivar nomenclature (collection level)
- Type:
- Official registry
- Jurisdiction:
- United States / Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- High
Cited for: Species classification for Solanum lycopersicum
- Type:
- Reference database
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12