Genetius

The study examined how tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants grown with conventional versus organic fertilizers respond at the leaf and fruit transcriptome levels, as well as selected fruit metabolites, to infestation by the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae). While conventional-fertilized plants experienced higher aphid loads, neither fertilization regime showed significant yield or fruit quality loss, likely due to ample resources. Co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed a shift toward catabolism in leaves, minor changes in fruit, and identified an ABA‑linked hub gene (Solyc02g078940.3) associated with organic fertilizer and aphid response.

The study identifies two BBX family transcription factors that regulate anthocyanin accumulation in non‑GM purple tomato fruits, acting at both transcriptional and post‑translational levels and displaying HY5‑dependent and independent functions. These findings expand understanding of light‑induced anthocyanin regulation and provide targets for breeding anthocyanin‑rich tomatoes that perform well under suboptimal lighting.

The study employed a lab‑in‑the‑field approach to dissect the microbiota of field‑grown tomato plants, revealing distinct phyllosphere, rhizosphere, and root interior communities with Acinetobacter sp. as a dominant member. Shotgun metagenomics and MAG reconstruction uncovered rhizosphere‑enriched functions, including nutrient mobilization, salinity adaptation, and antimicrobial resistance, while identifying plant‑growth‑promotion traits of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus that were consistent across tomato genotypes.

The authors built a genome-scale, multi-organ metabolic model linking tomato and the xylem-colonizing bacterium Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum, integrating quantitative measurements with sequential flux balance analyses to predict nutrient fluxes during infection. The model reveals that photosynthetic capacity, not mineral supply, limits bacterial growth, and that infection‑induced reductions in plant transpiration curb both plant and pathogen expansion, while putrescine excreted by the bacterium is re‑absorbed by the host.

The study investigates the molecular basis of heat‑tolerant pollen tube growth in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) by comparing thermotolerant and sensitive cultivars. Using live imaging, transcriptomics, proteomics, and genetics, the authors identified the Rapid Alkalinization Factor (RALF) signaling pathway as a key regulator of pollen tube integrity under high temperature, with loss of a specific RALF peptide enhancing tube integrity in a thermotolerant cultivar.

The study employed tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-mediated ISYmu1 genome editing combined with in planta shoot regeneration to achieve rapid, virus‑ and transgene‑free heritable mutations in tomato cultivars, producing homozygous SlPDS mutants in a single generation and demonstrating somatic editing of the agronomically relevant SlDA1 gene. This approach offers a genotype‑independent, non‑transgenic platform for functional genomics and crop improvement.

The study investigates laminarin (LaM) as a biopolymer elicitor of antioxidative defenses in tomato against early blight caused by Alternaria solani. Laminarin pretreatment reduced pathogen colonization, increased hydrogen peroxide accumulation and guaiacol peroxidase activity, and lowered disease severity, highlighting its potential for sustainable disease management.

The study assessed how well common deep learning models (ResNet, EfficientNet, Inception, MobileNet) generalize across different tomato pest and disease image datasets. While models performed well on the dataset they were trained on, they suffered substantial accuracy drops when applied to other datasets, indicating that architectural changes alone cannot overcome dataset variability. The results highlight the necessity for more diverse, representative training data to improve real-world deployment of PPD diagnostic tools.

The study characterizes the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) TINY1 transcription factor, showing that the tiny1 mutant exhibits faster wilting under drought due to larger leaf area rather than altered physiological drought responses. TINY1 influences early development by suppressing embryonic growth through downregulation of GA20ox4 and reduced gibberellin biosynthesis, but has no impact on later-stage growth or transpiration when leaf area is normalized.

The authors generated a high‑resolution 1.45‑billion‑contact Micro‑C map for cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), identifying ~4,600 long‑range chromatin loops that fall into promoter‑centered and Polycomb/heterochromatin‑associated classes. Comparative Micro‑C in wild tomatoes showed conserved loop anchors despite sequence turnover, and integration with transcriptomics revealed that promoter‑anchored loops can either activate or repress gene expression depending on the chromatin state of distal anchors.