Project description:Salinity stress is a major problem affecting plant growth and crop productivity. While plant biostimulants have been reported to be an effective solution to tackle salinity stress in different crops, the key genes and metabolic pathways involved in these tolerance processes remain unclear. This study focused on integrating phenotypic, physiological, biochemical and transcriptome data obtained from different tissues of Solanum lycopersicum L. plants (cv. Micro-Tom) subjected to a saline irrigation water program for 61 days (EC: 5.8 dS/m) and treated with a combination of protein hydrolysate and Ascophyllum nodosum-derived biostimulant, namely PSI-475. The biostimulant application was associated with the maintenance of higher K+/Na+ ratios in both young leaf and root tissue and the overexpression of transporter genes related to ion homeostasis (e.g., NHX4, HKT1;2). A more efficient osmotic adjustment was characterized by a significant increase in relative water content (RWC), which most likely was associated with osmolyte accumulation and upregulation of genes related to aquaporins (e.g., PIP2.1, TIP2.1). A higher content of photosynthetic pigments (+19.8% to +27.5%), increased expression of genes involved in photosynthetic efficiency and chlorophyll biosynthesis (e.g., LHC, PORC) and enhanced primary carbon and nitrogen metabolic mechanisms were observed, leading to a higher fruit yield and fruit number (47.5% and 32.5%, respectively). Overall, it can be concluded that the precision engineered PSI-475 biostimulant can provide long-term protective effects on salinity stressed tomato plants through a well-defined mode of action in different plant tissues.
Project description:Generalist arthropod herbivores rapidly adapt to a broad range of host plants. However, the extent of transcriptional reprogramming in the herbivore and its hosts associated with adaptation remains poorly understood. Using the spider mite Tetranychus urticae and tomato as models with available genomic resources, we investigated the reciprocal genome-wide transcriptional changes in both spider mite and tomato as a consequence of mite’s adaptation to tomato We used microarray to assess global gene expression in Solanum lycopersicum cv. Moneymaker upon Tetranychus urticae attack by tomato-adapted and non-adapted spider mite lines.
Project description:The red spider mite, Tetranychus evansi, is a oligophagous specialist mite pest of Solanaceae plants. Here, we described tomato transcriptional responses to T. evansi feeding and compared them to responses to tomato-adapted and -non-adapted strains of generalist herbivorous spider mite Tetranychus urticae. We used microarray to assess global gene expression in Solanum lycopersicum cv. Heinz 1706 upon T. evansi attack.
Project description:To investigate the effects of transgenic lines L6 and L7 tomato fruits on total expression profile of MCF-7 breast cancer cells, we treated MCF-7 cells with 1 ug/ml of tomato fruit extract for 24 hours and compare it with wild type tomato fruit extract Objectives for this study included the identification of genes that were up or down-regulated at the transcriptional level in MCF-7 cells treated with transgenic lines L6 and L7 tomatofruit extract and compare it to wild type tomato fruit extract.
Project description:The aim of this study was to compare the tomato global transcriptional profiles in response to host attack by ToMV and Fol in order to identify genomic differences and similarities in incompatible interactions between a foliar and a vascular pathogen. In order to identify a set of genes of interest in tomato plants infected with F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol) and Tomato Mosaic Virus (ToMV) a transcriptional analysis was performed. Tomato genes differentially expressed upon inoculation with Fol and ToMV were identified at 2 days post-inoculation, using an un-inoculated sample as reference.
Project description:The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is one of the most significant mite pests in agriculture that can feed on more than 1,100 plant hosts, including model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato, Solanum lycopersicum. In order to refine the involvement of jasmonic acid (JA) in mite-induced responses, we analyzed transcriptional changes in tomato JA signaling mutant defenseless1 (def-1) upon JA treatment and spider mite herbivory. We used microarray to assess global gene expression in Solanum lycopersicum def-1 cv. Castlemart upon jasmonic acid treatment and Tetranychus urticae attack.
Project description:Purpose: The tomato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli Šulc (Hemiptera: Triozidae), is a pest of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and potato (S. tuberosum) in the U.S. and vectors the disease-causing pathogen ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’. Plants undergo physiological, transcriptomic, or epigenetic changes in order to mount a stronger, faster response against secondary challenges by previously perceived threats. This is called defense ‘priming’ and it likely has an impact on vectored disease transmission. Currently, it is still unknown whether or not psyllid infestation has any lasting consequences for tomato gene expression or defense. To characterize the genes potentially involved in tomato priming against psyllids, RNA was extracted from psyllid-primed and uninfested tomato (Moneymaker) leaves three weeks after infestation. Methods: RNA was extracted and sequenced from plants three weeks after psyllid infestation. Plants were either left alone (Control or C) or infested with psyllids (Primed or J1). Libraries were developed using the TruSeq RNA Library Prep Kit v2. Sequencing was performed on the Illumina PE HiSeq 2500 v4 platform. Processed sequences were uploaded to the CyVerse Discovery Environment computational infrastructure where bioinformatic analysis was performed using the Tuxedo Suite 2 workflow. Results: Illumina HiSeq sequencing of tomato cDNA libraries produced 132,428,443 total reads that met FastQC quality control criteria. 94.6% of all reads mapped to vSL3.0 of the S. lycopersicum genome. CuffDiff2 analysis identified 310 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between control and psyllid-primed plants (q-value <0.01). Conclusions: A week-long infestation by a small number of B. cockerelli had lasting consequences for gene expression in tomato plants. Homologs of the DEGs were associated with 1) defense against abiotic and biotic stress, 2) growth and development, and 3) components of plant biology indirectly involved in plant growth and development such as homeostasis, transcription/translation, and molecular transport.
Project description:The search for more effective methods to alleviate the negative effects of abiotic stresses in plants has motivated the experimentation of new technologies, namely nanotechnologies. It is in this context that the use of formulations containing hybrid silicon (Si) nanoparticles (NPs) and acting as delivery systems of the flavonoid quercetin was here investigated. These formulations, previously referred to as phyto-couriers, proved their efficacy in protecting textile hemp against salinity. We here broaden their application spectrum by studying the effects on an important crop model, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom). Two phyto-courier formulations, labelled GS1 and GS3, functionalized with 25 mg of quercetin and differing in the presence of trehalose were applied to salt-stressed plants (200 mM NaCl) by foliar spraying. Microscopy showed, under stress, a preservation of the palisade mesophyll cell structure in plants treated with the formulations. A trend towards decreased expression of some stress-responsive genes was observed in the leaves treated with the phyto-couriers. Shotgun proteomics confirmed the protective effects and the nano-biostimulant nature of the formulations, since several proteins involved in cytoprotection against oxidative stress were more abundant in control leaves treated with the pyto-courier. This was especially evident for the trehalose-containing GS3 formulation. Some proteins involved in chromatin remodelling were also more abundant in control leaves treated with GS3. Overall, the formulations showed promising results to enhance abiotic stress tolerance in a model crop through the mitigation of stress symptoms. The results presented are a proof-of-concept for the use of the phyto-courier nanotechnology in horticultural applications
Project description:The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is one of the most significant mite pests in agriculture that can feed on more than 1,100 plant hosts, including model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato, Solanum lycopersicum. In order to refine the involvement of jasmonic acid (JA) in mite-induced responses, we analyzed transcriptional changes in tomato JA signaling mutant defenseless1 (def-1) upon JA treatment and spider mite herbivory. We used microarray to assess global gene expression in Solanum lycopersicum def-1 cv. Castlemart upon jasmonic acid treatment and Tetranychus urticae attack. 1 month old def-1 tomato plants were subjected to Tetranychus urticae attack through application of 100 adult mites on a terminal leaflet of leaf 3 for 24 h or plants were sprayed with 1 mM jasmonic acid solution.