The study assessed three savory essential oil–based formulations for controlling early blight caused by Alternaria solani in tomato, finding that formulation CC2020 most effectively reduced disease severity in both in vitro and greenhouse trials. CC2020 also helped maintain tomato fruit vitamin C levels and lowered fungal melanin production, indicating dual benefits for disease suppression and fruit quality.
Root-Suppressed Phenotype of Tomato Rs Mutant is Seemingly Related to Expression of Root-Meristem-Specific Sulfotransferases
Authors: Kumari, A., Gupta, P., Santisree, P., Pamei, I., Valluri,, S., Sharma, K., Venkateswara Rao, K., Shukla, S., Nama, S., Sreelakshmi, Y., Sharma, R.
The study characterizes a radiation‑induced root‑suppressed (Rs) mutant in tomato that displays dwarfism and pleiotropic defects in leaves, flowers, and fruits. Metabolite profiling and rescue with H2S donors implicate disrupted sulfur metabolism, and whole‑genome sequencing identifies promoter mutations in two root‑meristem‑specific sulfotransferase genes as likely contributors to the root phenotype.
An ancient alkalinization factor informs Arabidopsis root development
Authors: Xhelilaj, K., von Arx, M., Biermann, D., Parvanov, A., Faiss, N., Monte, I., Klingelhuber, F., Zipfel, C., Timmermans, M., Oecking, C., Gronnier, J.
The study identifies members of the REMORIN protein family as inhibitors of plasma membrane H⁺‑ATPases, leading to extracellular pH alkalinization that modulates cell surface processes such as steroid hormone signaling and coordinates root developmental transitions in Arabidopsis thaliana. This inhibition represents an ancient mechanism predating root evolution, suggesting that extracellular pH patterning has shaped plant morphogenesis.
The authors used a bottom‑up thermodynamic modelling framework to investigate how plants decode calcium signals, starting from Ca2+ binding to EF‑hand proteins and extending to higher‑order decoding modules. They identified six universal Ca2+-decoding modules that can explain variations in calcium sensitivity among kinases and provide a theoretical basis for interpreting calcium signal amplitude and frequency in plant cells.
The researchers created tomato lines overexpressing the autophagy gene SlATG8f and evaluated their performance under high-temperature stress. qRT‑PCR and physiological measurements revealed that SlATG8f overexpression enhances expression of autophagy‑related and heat‑shock protein genes, accelerates fruit ripening, and improves fruit quality under heat stress.
The study profiled root transcriptomes of Arabidopsis wild type and etr1 gain-of-function (etr1-3) and loss-of-function (etr1-7) mutants under ethylene or ACC treatment, identifying 4,522 ethylene‑responsive transcripts, including 553 that depend on ETR1 activity. ETR1‑dependent genes encompassed ethylene biosynthesis enzymes (ACO2, ACO3) and transcription factors, whose expression was further examined in an ein3eil1 background, revealing that both ETR1 and EIN3/EIL1 pathways regulate parts of the network controlling root hair proliferation and lateral root formation.
The study compares conventional vertical (I‑shaped) and novel horizontal (S‑shaped) cultivation methods for hydroponically grown mini‑tomatoes in a five‑tier plant factory with white LED lighting. The S‑shaped system provided more uniform light distribution, leading to consistent photosynthetic rates, earlier fruit maturation, and higher sugar and lycopene contents, while maintaining similar total yields to the I‑shaped method.
The study investigated how Arabidopsis thaliana SR protein kinases (AtSRPKs) regulate alternative RNA splicing by using chemical inhibitors of SRPK activity. Inhibition with SPHINX31 and SRPIN340 caused reduced root growth and loss of root hairs, accompanied by widespread changes in splicing and phosphorylation of genes linked to root development and other cellular processes. Multi‑omics analysis (transcriptomics and phosphoproteomics) revealed that AtSRPKs modulate diverse splicing factors and affect the splicing landscape of numerous pathways.
The study used genome‑wide bioinformatics to uncover phased secondary small interfering RNA (phasiRNA) regulatory modules active during tomato fruit ripening, linking them to traits such as color, firmness, brightness, and nutritional content. These findings lay groundwork for exploiting phasiRNAs in molecular breeding to improve tomato fruit quality.
A tomato line hyposensitive to simulated proximity shade shows altered auxin-related 1 gene expression and improved fruit yield under high-density field conditions
Authors: Burbano, E., Francesca, S., Palau-Rodriguez, J., Berdonces, A., Valverde-Carbajal, L., Perez-Beser, J. M., Addonizio, M., MARTINEZ GARCIA, J., Rigano, M. M., Rodriguez-Concepcion, M.
The study compared tomato genotypes under supplemental far‑red light (W+FR) and identified the Solanum pennellii introgression line IL2-2 as shade‑tolerant, displaying reduced seedling elongation and altered auxin‑gene expression relative to the parental M82 line. While W+FR enhanced fruit quality (°Brix, ascorbic acid, carotenoids) in M82, IL2-2 maintained stable quality and showed higher fruit yield under high‑density planting, suggesting its utility for dense or intercropped agricultural systems.