Micro-Tom

At present, the development of plants with improved traits like superior quality, high yield, or stress resistance, are highly desirable in agriculture. Accelerated crop improvement, however, must capitalize on revolutionary new plant breeding technologies, like genetically modified and gene-edited crops, to heighten food crop traits. Genome editing still faces ineffective methods for the transformation and regeneration of different plant species and must surpass the genotype dependency of the transformation process...

Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) is a globally cultivated crop with great economic value. The exocarp determines the appearance of tomato fruit and protects it from various biotic and abiotic challenges at both pre-harvest and post-harvest stages. However, no tomato exocarp-specific promoter is currently available, which hinders exocarp-based genetic engineering. Here, we identified by RNA sequencing and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR analyses that the tomato gene SlPR10 ( PATHOGENESIS RELATED 10 ) was abundantly and predominantly expressed in the exocarp...

Type-IV glandular trichomes, which only occur in the juvenile developmental phase of the cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), produce acylsugars that broadly protect against arthropod herbivory. Previously, we introgressed the capacity to retain type-IV trichomes in the adult phase from the wild tomato, Solanum galapagense, into the cultivated species cv. Micro-Tom (MT). The resulting MT-Get (MicroTom-Galapagos enhanced trichome) introgression line contained five loci associated with enhancing the density of type-IV trichomes in adult plants...

Chemical priming has emerged as a promising area in agricultural research. Our previous studies have demonstrated that pretreatment with a low concentration of ethanol enhances abiotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis and cassava. Here, we show that ethanol treatment induces heat stress tolerance in tomato ( Solanum lycopersicon L.) plants. Seedlings of the tomato cultivar 'Micro-Tom' were pretreated with ethanol solution and then subjected to heat stress. The survival rates of the ethanol-pretreated plants were significantly higher than those of the water-treated control plants...

Protoplast regeneration has become a key platform for genetic and genome engineering. However, we lack reliable and reproducible methods for efficient protoplast regeneration for tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) cultivars. Here, we optimized cell and tissue culture methods for protoplast isolation, microcallus proliferation, shoot regeneration, and plantlet establishment of the tomato cultivar Micro-Tom. A thin layer of alginate was applied to protoplasts isolated from third to fourth true leaves and cultured at an optimal density of 1 × 105 protoplasts/ml...

BACKGROUND: Drought is thought to be a major abiotic stress that dramatically limits tomato growth and production. As signal molecule, melatonin (MT) and carbon monoxide (CO) can enhance plant stress resistance. However, the effect and underlying mechanism of CO involving MT-mediated drought resistance in seedling growth remains unknown. In this study, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. 'Micro-Tom') seedlings were used to investigate the interaction and mechanism of MT and CO in response to drought stress...

Condensed tannins are often found in fruits and nuts and have an astringent flavor. The synthesis pathway of condensed tannins is already clear, but few related regulatory factors have been explored. Previous studies about MADS-box transcription factors have mainly focused on the regulation of floral organ development. Recent studies have shown that MADS-box are also involved in fruit development, maturation, and quality. The fruit of Quercus fabri is rich in starch and nutrients in its kernel but is difficult to eat directly because of its high condensed tannin content...

Genome editing (GE) using CRISPR/Cas systems has revolutionized plant mutagenesis. However, conventional transgene-mediated GE methods have limitations due to the time-consuming generation of stable transgenic lines expressing the Cas9/single guide RNA (sgRNA) module through tissue cultures. Virus-induced genome editing (VIGE) systems have been successfully employed in model plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana spp . In this study, we developed two VIGE methods for Solanaceous plants. First, we used the tobacco rattle virus (TRV) vector to deliver sgRNAs into a transgenic tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) line of cultivar Micro-Tom expressing Cas9 ...

The role of lignin accumulation in silicon-induced resistance has not been fully elucidated. Based on the finding that the root cell wall is protected by silicon, this study explored the role of lignin accumulation in silicon-induced drought resistance in tomato. The decreased silicon concentration of the root confirmed the dominant role of lignin accumulation in silicon-induced drought resistance. The lignin monomer content in the root was enhanced by silicon, and was accompanied by the enhancement of drought resistance...

The necrotrophic fungus Botritys cinerea takes advantage of the oxidative burst to facilitate tissue infection, leading to substantial losses during tomato postharvest. Tomato fruit is a source of carotenoids, pigments with a wide variety of isomeric configurations that determine their antioxidant capacity. Here, fruit susceptibility to B. cinerea was assessed in Micro-Tom Near Isogenic lines harboring mutations that alter the profile of carotenoids. Wound-inoculated fruit of the mutants Delta carotene (Del) and tangerine (t), which show large variety of carotenoids rather than the major accumulation of trans-lycopene, were less susceptible to the pathogen...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Gigantism is a key component of the domestication syndrome, a suite of traits that differentiates crops from their wild relatives. Allometric gigantism is strongly marked in horticultural crops, causing disproportionate increases in the size of edible parts such as stems, leaves or fruits. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) has attracted attention as a model for fruit gigantism, and many genes have been described controlling this trait. However, the genetic basis of a corresponding increase in size of vegetative organs contributing to isometric gigantism, has remained relatively unexplored...

Intensive agriculture maintains high crop yields through chemical inputs, which are well known for their adverse effects on environmental quality and human health. Innovative technologies are required to reduce the risk generated by the extensive and harmful use of pesticides. The plant biostimulants made from humic substances isolated from recyclable biomass offer an alternative approach to address the need for replacing conventional agrochemicals without compromising the crop yield. The stimulatory effects of humic substances are commonly associated with plant hormones, particularly auxins...

Botrytis cinerea is a devastating fungal pathogen that causes severe economic losses in global tomato cultivation. Understanding the molecular mechanisms driving tomatoes' response to this pathogen is crucial for developing effective strategies to counter it. Although the Micro-Tom (MT) cultivar has been used as a model, its stage-specific response to B. cinerea remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined the response of the MT and Ailsa Craig (AC) cultivars to B. cinerea at different time points (12-48 h post-infection (hpi))...

Cultivated tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important horticultural crops in the world. The optimization of culture media for callus formation and tissue regeneration of different tomato genotypes presents numerous biotechnological applications. In this work, we have analyzed the effect of different concentrations of zeatin and indole-3-acetic acid on the regeneration of cotyledon explants in tomato cultivars M82 and Micro-Tom. We evaluated regeneration parameters such as the percentage of callus formation and the area of callus formed, as well as the initiation percentage and the number of adventitious shoots...

Cold storage is widely used to extend the postharvest life of most horticultural crops, including tomatoes, but this practice triggers cold stress and leads to the development of undesirable chilling injury (CI) symptoms. The underlying mechanisms of cold stress response and CI development in fruits remain unclear as they are often intermingled with fruit ripening changes. To gain insight into cold responses in fruits, we examined the effect of the potent ethylene signaling inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on fruit ripening, CI occurrence and gene expression in mature green tomatoes during storage at 20°C and 5°C...

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been widely used as light sources for plant production in plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs), and light spectrum and light amount have great impacts on plant growth and development. With the expansion of the product list of PFALs, tomato production in PFALs has received attention, but studies on fruit quality influenced by artificial light are lacking. In this study, precisely modulated LED light sources based on white light combined with additional red, blue, and green lights were used to investigate the effects of light spectrum and daily light integral (DLI) on the main quality indicators and flavor substances of "Micro-Tom" tomato fruits...

The current climate change setting necessitates the development of methods to mitigate the effects of water scarcity to ensure the sustainability of agricultural activities.f Hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) is a plant signaling molecule that can trigger metabolic defense mechanisms in response to adverse environmental circumstances like as drought. The purpose of this study was to investigate if foliar application of H2 O2 stimulates modifications in photosynthetic metabolism for adaptation of tomato plants to a period of water deficit and recovery...

The deficiency of calcium (Ca) reduces the quality and shelf life of fruits. In this scenario, although foliar spraying of Ca2+ has been used, altogether with soil fertilization, as an alternative to prevent deficiencies, little is known regarding its absorption dynamics by plant leaves. Herein, in vivo microprobe X-ray fluorescence was employed aiming to monitor the foliar absorption of CaCl2 , Ca-citrate complex, and Ca3 (PO4 )2 nanoparticles with and without using adjuvant. We also investigated whether Sr2+ can be employed as Ca2+ proxy in foliar absorption studies...

In flowering plants, pollination, pollen tube growth, and fertilization are regarded as the first hierarchical processes of producing offspring. However, their independent contributions to fruit set and development remain unclear. In this study, we examined the effect of three different types of pollen, intact pollen (IP), soft X-ray-treated pollen (XP) and dead pollen (DP), on pollen tube growth, fruit development and gene expression in "Micro-Tom" tomato. Normal germination and pollen tube growth were observed in flowers pollinated with IP; pollen tubes started to penetrate the ovary at 9 h after pollination, and full penetration was achieved after 24 h (IP24h), resulting in ~94% fruit set...

Phosphate is one of the essential mineral nutrients. Phosphate transporter genes (PHTs) play an important role in Pi acquisition and homeostasis in tomato plants. However, basic biological information on PHT genes and their responses of symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal in the genome remains largely unknown. We analyzed the physiological changes and PHT gene expression in tomatoes ( Micro-Tom ) inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi ( Funneliformis mosseae ) under different phosphate conditions (P1: 0 µM, P2: 25 µM, and P3: 200 µM Pi)...