Discover the intriguing story of a tomato protein, SlSYTA, that can both protect and make tomatoes more vulnerable to pathogens. This groundbreaking research sheds light on the complex immune mechanisms in plants and offers new opportunities to enhance crop resilience.
The Tomato Tightrope
AbstractTomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are widely grown by humans, but their resistance to various pathogens, such as fungi and bacteria, and viruses has been undermined. Those challenges are compounded by the consequences of climate change, which is reducing harvests and diminishing nutritional quality.
In the face of these urgent problems, scientists are applying a stronger focus on uncovering the sophisticated immune systems of plants. In this study, the role of a key regulatory protein that is SlSYTA (Solanum lycopersicum Synaptotagmin A) in tomato disease resistance was investigated by researchers from Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Disease Biology, Southwest University.
Unveiling SlSYTA’s Dual Persona
By combining a combination of advanced transcriptome and metabolome analyses, we were able to reveal an unexpected dual role of SlSYTA in tomato disease resistance. SlSYTA similarly functions as a negative regulator of plant immunity, thereby enhancing the susceptibility of tomatoes to viruses (tobacco mosaic virus), oomycetes (Phytophthora capsici) and fungus (Botrytis cinerea). By contrast, the broad-spectrum resistance was obtained when slsytA was silenced by RNA interference, indicating its complex role in plant immunity.
SlSYTA was found to suppress basal immune responses, including the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) burst, stomatal closure and callose deposition, thus weakening plant immunity (Zhang et al., 2019). Upon deeper inspection, it was discovered that SlSYTA modulates immune signaling through metabolic perturbation affecting the pentose phosphate pathway important for ROS production.
Conclusion
Dissecting the dual modulation function of SlSYTA sheds light on its selective genetic modification as an ideal candidate for further improving tomato disease resistance. By learning how this protein functions, scientists can create new solutions to bring resilience to a larger community of tomato pathogens, promoting more sustainable agriculture and ensuring food production in a changing world.
