Manipulation of a strigolactone transporter in tomato confers resistance to the parasitic weed broomrape

Parasitic weeds of the Orobanchaceae family cause substantial economic losses and pose significant threats to global agriculture. However, management of such parasitism is challenging, and very few resistance genes have been cloned and characterized in depth. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study using 152 tomato accessions and identified <i>SlABCG45</i> as a key gene that mediates host resistance to <i>Phelipanche aegyptiaca</i> by affecting the level of strigolactones (SLs) in root exudates. SLs are synthesized and released by host plants and act as germination stimulants for parasitic weeds. We found that SlABCG45 and its close homolog SlABCG44 were membrane-localized SL transporters with essential roles in exudation of SLs to the rhizosphere, resistance to <i>Phelipanche</i> and <i>Orobanche</i>, and upward transport of SLs from roots to shoots. As a predominant environmental stimulant exacerbates parasitism, phosphorus deficiency dramatically induced <i>SlABCG45</i> expression and weakly induced <i>SlABCG44</i> expression via the transcription factors SlNSP1 and SlNSP2. Knockout of <i>SlABCG45</i> in tomato had little effect on yield traits in a broomrape-free field, but conferred increased resistance to different <i>Phelipanche</i> and <i>Orobanche</i> species, resulting in an ∼30% yield increase in a <i>Phelipanche</i>-infested field. Our findings reveal that targeting a single gene by genome editing can confer broad-spectrum parasite resistance in tomato, providing an effective strategy for the sustainable control of parasitic plants in agriculture.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Innovation
Published
2025-01-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100815
Citations
11
Primary Topic
Plant Parasitism and Resistance
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
19.25

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article

Manipulation of a strigolactone transporter in tomato confers resistance to the parasitic weed broomrape

Yanrong Hao, Xiaojuan Su, Sanwen Huang, Qi Xie et al.
11 citations
The Innovation
Plant Parasitism and Resistance
19.25
article

Manipulation of a strigolactone transporter in tomato confers resistance to the parasitic weed broomrape

Yanrong Hao, Xiaojuan Su, Sanwen Huang, Qi Xie, Lemeng Dong, Qinghui Yu, Zongyun Yan, Jinfang Chu, Cui Xia, Liquan Kou, Jijun Yan, Peiyong Xin, Yu Hong, Harro J. Bouwmeester, Xinwei Ban, Bing Wang, Qin Li, Yuqin Zhang, Jiayang Li, Lin Tao, Jianxin Wu, Qianjin Li, Yuhang Chen, Qingliang Hu
article en
11 citations

Abstract

Parasitic weeds of the Orobanchaceae family cause substantial economic losses and pose significant threats to global agriculture. However, management of such parasitism is challenging, and very few resistance genes have been cloned and characterized in depth. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study using 152 tomato accessions and identified <i>SlABCG45</i> as a key gene that mediates host resistance to <i>Phelipanche aegyptiaca</i> by affecting the level of strigolactones (SLs) in root exudates. SLs are synthesized and released by host plants and act as germination stimulants for parasitic weeds. We found that SlABCG45 and its close homolog SlABCG44 were membrane-localized SL transporters with essential roles in exudation of SLs to the rhizosphere, resistance to <i>Phelipanche</i> and <i>Orobanche</i>, and upward transport of SLs from roots to shoots. As a predominant environmental stimulant exacerbates parasitism, phosphorus deficiency dramatically induced <i>SlABCG45</i> expression and weakly induced <i>SlABCG44</i> expression via the transcription factors SlNSP1 and SlNSP2. Knockout of <i>SlABCG45</i> in tomato had little effect on yield traits in a broomrape-free field, but conferred increased resistance to different <i>Phelipanche</i> and <i>Orobanche</i> species, resulting in an ∼30% yield increase in a <i>Phelipanche</i>-infested field. Our findings reveal that targeting a single gene by genome editing can confer broad-spectrum parasite resistance in tomato, providing an effective strategy for the sustainable control of parasitic plants in agriculture.

The InnovationVol. 6(3)
Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CN), Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NL), Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen (CN), State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics (CN), Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN), Institute of Vegetables and Flowers (CN), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), China Agricultural University (CN), Xinjiang University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Youth Innovation Promotion Association
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Plant Parasitism and Resistance
19.25
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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