Plant Biotechnology Journal最新文献

{"title":"Engineering Herbicide Cross-Resistance in Rapeseed by Generating Stacked BnaALS Mutations via Sequential CBE and ABE8e-SpRY Editing","authors":"Sichao Ren, Wenjing Lei, Jiaqi He, Meng Jia, Yu Liu, Jialin Fan, Yumei Wang, Li Lin, Hui Zhang, Youping Wang, Jian Wu","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70670","DOIUrl":"10.1111/pbi.70670","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Rapeseed (<i>Brassica napus</i>) is a globally important oil crop. In China, over 80% of production occurs in the Yangtze River Basin, where rice–rapeseed rotation is widely practiced. Effective weed control in rice can be achieved by planting imidazolinone (IMI)-tolerant rice and applying IMI herbicides. However, the strong residual activity of IMI in soil frequently causes herbicide carryover, severely damaging subsequent non-tolerant crops, especially rapeseed. The long half-lives of several IMI herbicides, particularly imazethapyr (IMZT) with high carryover potential, make IMI-tolerant rapeseed urgently needed for rotation systems.</p><p>Base editors enable precise nucleotide substitutions but are limited by the NGG protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM) requirement. The engineered SpCas9 variant SpRY overcomes this constraint by recognizing nearly all PAMs, greatly expanding the targeting scope (Walton et al. <span>2020</span>). Although SpRY-based systems have been successfully utilized, especially in rice (Ren et al. <span>2021</span>; Xu et al. <span>2021</span>), their application in rapeseed has not been reported. Here, we constructed and validated a SpRY-based PAM-less adenine base editor (ABE, A‧T to G‧C) system in rapeseed and used it to generate IMI-tolerant germplasm.</p><p>To evaluate rapeseed sensitivity to soil IMI residues, we treated soil with different concentrations of IMZT. Rapeseed exhibited high sensitivity: 0.1 mg ai L<sup>−1</sup> (approximately 1 × 10<sup>−3</sup> of the recommended field concentration) significantly inhibited growth, while 1 mg ai L<sup>−1</sup> nearly abolished seedling development (Figure 1a,b). Substitutions at conserved acetolactate synthase (ALS) residues are known to confer resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in many weeds (http://www.weedscience.org). We previously used a cytosine base editor (CBE, C‧G to T‧A) to generate a <i>BnaALS1</i><sup>P197S</sup> rapeseed mutation, which conferred resistance to the sulfonylurea (SU) herbicide tribenuron-methyl (TBM, Wu et al. <span>2020</span>) but not to IMZT (Figure S1).</p><p>To identify mutations conferring IMI resistance, we modelled the interactions between IMZT and BnaALS1 variants corresponding to resistance-associated mutations reported in weeds using AlphaFold3 (Abramson et al. <span>2024</span>). Structural predictions indicated that substitutions at W574 (W574R/L) markedly reduce IMZT–BnaALS1 binding stability (Figure 1c, Figure S2).</p><p>Both rapeseed <i>ALS</i> homologues (<i>BnaALS1</i> and <i>BnaALS3</i>) contain a conserved W574 codon TGG; thus, ABE-mediated editing could convert this codon to CGG, generating W574R (Figure 1d). Because no suitable NGG PAM was present, we employed a SpRY-based ABE construct, ABE8e-SpRY (Figure 1e). To optimize editing efficiency, we compared three promoters driving TadA8e-SpRY expression (Figure 1e). Constructs were introduced into hypocotyl explants by <i>Agrobacterium</i>-mediated transformation, and","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"24 9","pages":"5007-5009"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13398677/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147831444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Post-Translational Control of TaFT1 by WAPO1 Ubiquitination Shapes Spike Architecture and Yield in Wheat","authors":"Yujie Jiang,&nbsp;Xiongtao Li,&nbsp;Yiqing Wang,&nbsp;Haoran Wang,&nbsp;Zhaoyan Chen,&nbsp;Chaoqun Dong,&nbsp;Xiangqing Liu,&nbsp;Xincheng Wang,&nbsp;Sufang Li,&nbsp;Weilong Guo,&nbsp;Yingyin Yao,&nbsp;Mingming Xin,&nbsp;Xingguo Ye,&nbsp;Zhongfu Ni,&nbsp;Qixin Sun,&nbsp;Jie Liu","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70688","DOIUrl":"10.1111/pbi.70688","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The florigen protein TaFT1 coordinately regulates heading time and spikelet number per spike (SNS), serving as a key yield determinant in wheat. However, how its stability is post-translationally controlled in the shoot apical meristem remains unclear. Here, we identify the F-box protein WHEAT ORTHOLOG OF APO1 (WAPO1), allelic to a major SNS quantitative trait locus (<i>QSns.cau-7A</i>), as a direct ubiquitin E3 ligase targeting TaFT1 for degradation. A crucial missense mutation (C47F) in the F-box domain of WAPO1 has a significant impact on the SNS. The elite allele <i>WAPO-A1b</i> (from large-spike germplasm AS420, encoding 47F) exhibits stronger binding affinity and ubiquitination activity toward TaFT1 compared with the allele <i>WAPO-A1f</i> (from cultivar Lunxuan987, encoding 47C). Enhanced degradation of TaFT1 by <i>WAPO-A1b</i> in the shoot apical meristem impairs the TaFT1–TaFDL transcriptional complex, thereby downregulating the floral identity gene <i>VRN1/WAP1</i> and increasing SNS without delaying heading. Notably, the favourable <i>WAPO-A1b</i> allele has been positively selected in modern breeding, and its ectopic activation significantly boosts grain yield in field trials. Our work elucidates a post-translational pathway that fine-tunes spike architecture and highlights <i>WAPO-A1b</i> as a valuable genetic target for high-yield wheat breeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"24 9","pages":"5094-5110"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13398888/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147979698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"PlantRG: A Comprehensive and User-Friendly Database for Plant Resistance Gene Analogs (RGAs)","authors":"Jinghua He,&nbsp;Xiao Ma,&nbsp;Rui Cao,&nbsp;Zhuo Liu,&nbsp;Chenhao Zhang,&nbsp;Wei Chen,&nbsp;Lusheng Guo,&nbsp;Zipeng Meng,&nbsp;Rong Zhou,&nbsp;Xiaoming Song","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70691","DOIUrl":"10.1111/pbi.70691","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Resistance genes are critical for plant defence against biotic stresses, and building a comprehensive, integrated data resource platform for these genes holds great significance for plant research and agriculture. Here, we developed PlantRG (http://plantrg.bio2db.com), a user-friendly plant resistance gene database, which is built on 2 163 397 resistance genes identified from 1062 plant species. These genes were mined from all accessible plant genomic resources—systematically curated from 794 peer-reviewed publications and 107 public databases—to ensure data breadth and reliability. All resistance genes in PlantRG were further functionally annotated using five major reference databases, enhancing their utility for targeted studies. Additionally, 207 353 SSR markers and 141 582 miRNAs associated with these resistance genes were detected, providing insights into their regulatory networks and genetic markers. Key bioinformatic results, including gene duplication patterns, protein–protein interaction predictions and CRISPR guide sequences, were also generated and stored in the database. PlantRG allows free browsing and downloading of all resistance gene sequences, annotations and bioinformatic data. It also offers practical tools such as Blast (for homology search), CasViewer (for CRISPR guide visualization), Circos (for genomic landscape analysis), HmmerSearch (for domain-based identification) and Primer Design, to facilitate user-friendly comparative genomic analysis. Notably, PlantRG is the comprehensive platform to complete large-scale collection and bioinformatic analysis of plant resistance genes. It will support in-depth studies on the structure, function and evolutionary patterns of resistance genes, thereby contributing to agricultural development—for example, breeding stress-resistant crop varieties. In the future, PlantRG will be continuously updated to incorporate new data and features, maintaining its value for the global plant research community.</p>","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"24 9","pages":"5172-5184"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13398923/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148051451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to ‘The genome of Cymbidium sinense revealed the evolution of orchid traits’","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70727","DOIUrl":"10.1111/pbi.70727","url":null,"abstract":"<p>\u0000 <span>Yang, F.-X.</span>, <span>J. Gao</span>, <span>Y.-L. Wei</span>, et al. <span>2021</span>. “ <span>The Genome of <i>Cymbidium sinense</i> Revealed the Evolution of Orchid Traits</span>.” <i>Plant Biotechnology Journal</i> <span>19</span>: <span>2501</span>–<span>2516</span>. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13676.\u0000 </p><p>In the above article, the authors would like to update Figure 4b. The ultrastructure images of flower bud developmental stage 0 and stage 1 in the second row, which corresponded to plant morphology of stage 0 and stage 1 in the first row, were mistakenly displayed. The correct figure is shown below.</p><p>We apologize for these errors.</p>","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"24 9","pages":"5239-5240"},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/pbi.70727","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148451770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Satellite DNA Editing Enables Multiplexed Chromosome Restructuring in Populus.","authors":"Ran Zhou, Margot S S Chen, MaKenzie R Drowns, Kathrine Mailloux, Kangquan Yin, Brieanne Vaillancourt, C Robin Buell, Chung-Jui Tsai","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70741","DOIUrl":"10.1111/pbi.70741","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13501387/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148807840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multiplexed Engineering of Disease Resistance and Lodging Tolerance in Wheat Via a Single Xylan Modifying Glycosyltransferase.","authors":"Shufang Sun, Chunhui Li, Zehua Wang, Chunyang Ma, Xinhui Niu, Qunqing Wang, Qian Xu","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70747","DOIUrl":"10.1111/pbi.70747","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Breeding crops with robust disease resistance often compromises yield, a persistent challenge in agricultural improvement. We report that modifying cell wall architecture through a xylan-specific glycosyltransferase successfully breaks this trade-off in wheat. TaXAX1, a pathogen-induced member of the glycosyltransferase (GT)61 family, catalyses arabinose modification of xylan and is predominantly localized to the Golgi apparatus. CRISPR/Cas9 knockout mutants of Taxax1 exhibited enhanced susceptibility to three major fungal diseases: Fusarium head blight (FHB), Fusarium crown rot (FCR) and stripe rust. Conversely, overexpression of TaXAX1 significantly enhanced resistance to all three pathogens concurrently. Remarkably, this multi-disease resistance was achieved without any reduction in grain yield. Mechanistically, TaXAX1 mediates cell wall fortification by increasing xylan arabinose modification arabinosylation, upregulating the phenylpropanoid pathway and enhancing the deposition of lignin, cellulose and phenolic cross-linkers. This resulted in a thicker and more reinforced secondary cell wall, which also translated into superior stem strength. Our study identifies TaXAX1 as a master regulator of cell wall remodelling and provides a compelling strategy for designing wheat varieties with integrated resilience against multiple diseases and environmental stresses, while safeguarding yield potential.</p>","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13501388/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148807903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveals the FA9-VAP Module Regulating Fatty Acid Accumulation in Soybean Seeds.","authors":"Hui Li, Tianshu Li, Xiaorui Xu, Jinhang Cui, Xin Chen, Jingyi Huang, Jia Song, Cui Mu, Xinyu Hong, Chunyan Liu, Ning Wang, Xue Han, Sui Wang, Qingshan Chen, Zhaoming Qi","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70750","DOIUrl":"10.1111/pbi.70750","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As a major commercial legume crop, soybean ranks among the world's most significant sources of edible oil and plant protein. We previously identified a SEIPIN homologue (FA9) at the fatty acid 9 locus that promotes fatty acid accumulation in soybean. To examine the detailed molecular mechanisms by which FA9 regulates lipid metabolism, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatial transcriptomics (stRNA-seq) of wild-type and FA9-knockout soybean seeds at the late maturity stage. scRNA-seq analysis identified 26 transcriptional clusters and revealed the spatial distribution of FA9 in seeds, in which the deletion of FA9 altered lipid and storage-related transcriptional programmes. On the basis of single-cell sequencing and immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry (IP-MS), the vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP)-associated protein (VAP) was identified, and subsequent experiments demonstrated that FA9 interacts specifically with VAP via its N-terminal FFAT motif at the endoplasmic reticulum. Seeds of vap knockout (vap-KO1 and vap-KO2) and fa9 vap double knockout (fa9 vap-KO) lines, created by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, had higher protein contents and lower total fatty acid contents than wild-type soybean, whereas overexpression of FA9 and VAP enhanced lipid droplet formation in Nicotiana benthamiana. These findings reveal that FA9 interacts with VAP to promote lipid droplet biogenesis and lipid transport, thereby driving fatty acid accumulation in soybean seeds. This research provides new insight into the molecular mechanisms that regulate seed oil synthesis and identifies potential target genes for improvement of soybean oil quality through molecular breeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13500105/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148807897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A MYB ‐Related Transcriptional Module Cooperatively Represses Xylem Development in Poplar","authors":"Gaofeng Fan, Jiahui Jiang, Zihan Cheng, Feixiang Ma, Zhanling Sun, Zelin Li, Yu Qi, Guanzheng Qu, Tingbo Jiang","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70745","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70745","url":null,"abstract":"MYB transcription factors play crucial roles in regulating plant growth and development, but the functions of the MYB‐related subfamily in woody plants remain poorly understood. In this study, we characterized <jats:italic>PagMYBR028</jats:italic> , an MYB‐related transcription factor from poplar ‘84 K’ ( <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\"> <jats:italic>Populus alba</jats:italic> </jats:styled-content> × <jats:italic>Populus glandulosa</jats:italic> ), which was predominantly expressed in leaves and xylem. Compared with WT plants, <jats:italic>PagMYBR028</jats:italic> ‐overexpressing transgenic poplar exhibited reduced leaf area and retarded secondary xylem development, whereas <jats:italic>PagMYBR028</jats:italic> ‐RNAi lines displayed the opposite phenotypes. Further analysis revealed that PagMYBR028 interacts with PagMYBR005, a related regulator with overlapping functions in poplar development. Both proteins directly repress the expression of <jats:italic>PagGRF12b</jats:italic> , and their interaction enhances this transcriptional repression. In addition, overexpression of <jats:italic>PagGRF12b</jats:italic> promoted secondary cell wall deposition. Taken together, our results delineate a PagMYBR028‐PagMYBR005‐PagGRF12b module that coordinately regulates poplar growth and secondary wall development, providing new insights into the transcriptional network underlying wood formation and a theoretical basis for molecular breeding in trees.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148768156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Simultaneous Overexpression of FERULOYL‐CoA 6′‐HYDROXYLASE 1 and COUMARIN SYNTHASE Leads to Coumarin‐Enriched Lignin and Improved Saccharification in Greenhouse‐ and Field‐Grown Poplar","authors":"Nette De Ridder, Lennart Hoengenaert, Jan Van Doorsselaere, Wim De Clercq, Geert Goeminne, Sarah Liu, Fachuang Lu, John Ralph, Ruben Vanholme, Wout Boerjan","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70739","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70739","url":null,"abstract":"The urgent need for renewable resources has increased the interest in woody biomass to manufacture bio‐based products. However, lignin recalcitrance limits the enzymatic conversion of wood into fermentable sugars, posing a major challenge for biomass deconstruction. To address this problem, we aimed at incorporating the coumarin scopoletin into the lignin polymer of poplar ( <jats:italic> <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">Populus tremula</jats:styled-content> × <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">P</jats:styled-content> </jats:italic> <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\"> <jats:italic>. alba</jats:italic> </jats:styled-content> ) by expressing <jats:italic>FERULOYL‐CoA 6′‐HYDROXYLASE 1</jats:italic> ( <jats:italic>F6′H1</jats:italic> ) and <jats:italic>COUMARIN SYNTHASE</jats:italic> ( <jats:italic>COSY</jats:italic> ) in lignifying cells. Three constructs were evaluated: two bicistronic constructs, SCOP1 ( <jats:italic>COSY</jats:italic> followed by <jats:italic>F6′H1</jats:italic> ) and SCOP2 ( <jats:italic>F6′H1</jats:italic> followed by <jats:italic>COSY</jats:italic> ), and one monocistronic, SCOP3 (only <jats:italic>F6′H1</jats:italic> ). SCOP1 poplars produced most free scopoletin without altering overall lignin, cellulose or hemicellulose content. SCOP2 poplars were overall less efficient in scopoletin production and most of these lines showed a severe biomass yield penalty, whereas SCOP3 caused plant lethality. NMR and metabolic analyses confirmed that scopoletin cross‐coupled with G and S monomers during lignification in SCOP1 lines. In addition to scopoletin, the detection of benzodioxane structures revealed the incorporation of dihydroxycoumarins. Overall coumarin incorporation in lignin amounted up to 2.3%. After alkaline pretreatment, wood from greenhouse‐grown SCOP1 poplars released up to 29% more glucose compared to the wild type upon limited saccharification. Field‐testing of three SCOP1 lines showed a 6 to 11% increase in saccharification efficiency, with the line containing the lowest scopoletin levels maintaining normal growth. These results demonstrate that engineering lignin composition in poplar can improve saccharification, and emphasize the importance of construct design, translational research and field validation.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148754467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unexpected Suppression of Tomato Fruit Cuticle Formation by Overexpression of a Key Cutin Biosynthetic Enzyme","authors":"Gulab Chand Arya, Ekram Wassel, Vibha Mishra, Ekaterina Manasherova, Ruth E. Stark, Hagai Cohen","doi":"10.1111/pbi.70742","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.70742","url":null,"abstract":"Fruit cuticles regulate the diffusion of water, gases and solutes, functioning as essential protective interfaces against environmental and biotic stresses. Engineering cuticle structure and mechanics therefore represents a promising strategy for improving fruit quality and resilience. To enhance biosynthesis of cutin, the major structural component of the cuticle, we generated transgenic tomato lines expressing the <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\"> <jats:italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</jats:italic> </jats:styled-content> <jats:italic>GLYCEROL‐3‐PHOSPHATE sn‐2‐ACYLTRANSFERASE 4</jats:italic> ( <jats:italic>AtGPAT4</jats:italic> ) gene specifically in exocarp tissues. AtGPAT4 is a key enzyme providing acylglycerol intermediates for cutin polymer assembly. We performed comprehensive phenotypic, microscopic, spectroscopic, transcriptional and surface nanomechanical analyses to monitor the structural consequences of <jats:italic>AtGPAT4</jats:italic> overexpression and evaluated functional traits including water loss and susceptibility to the <jats:italic>Botrytis cinerea</jats:italic> fungus. Contrary to expectations, exocarp‐targeted expression of <jats:italic>AtGPAT4</jats:italic> generated fruits with cuticles that had diminished levels of cutin and epicuticular waxes, together with decreased cuticular stiffness and resistance to deformation, and whole fruit firmness. Evidently, these structural and chemical alterations did not affect thermal stability or water retention, but they increased susceptibility to fungal infection by <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\"> <jats:italic>B. cinerea</jats:italic> </jats:styled-content> . Although the engineering outcomes were unintended, they offered mechanistic insights into how manipulation of cutin biosynthesis pathways reshapes cuticle architecture, polymer composition and nanomechanical performance. This work underscores the complexity of engineering fruit surface traits and offers new perspectives for future biotechnological strategies aimed at improving cuticle robustness and pathogen resistance.","PeriodicalId":221,"journal":{"name":"Plant Biotechnology Journal","volume":"56 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":13.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148754468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}