Loss of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase disturbs phytohormone homeostasis and regulates shoot side branching and fruit growth in tomato.

S-Nitrosoglutathione plays a central role in nitric oxide (NO) homeostasis, and S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) regulates the cellular levels of S-nitrosoglutathione across kingdoms. Here, we investigated the role of endogenous NO in shaping shoot architecture and controlling fruit set and growth in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). SlGSNOR silencing promoted shoot side branching and led to reduced fruit size, negatively impacting fruit yield. Greatly intensified in slgsnor knockout plants, these phenotypical changes were virtually unaffected by SlGSNOR overexpression. Silencing or knocking out of SlGSNOR intensified protein tyrosine nitration and S-nitrosation and led to aberrant auxin production and signaling in leaf primordia and fruit-setting ovaries, besides restricting the shoot basipetal polar auxin transport stream. SlGSNOR deficiency triggered extensive transcriptional reprogramming at early fruit development, reducing pericarp cell proliferation due to restrictions on auxin, gibberellin, and cytokinin production and signaling. Abnormal chloroplast development and carbon metabolism were also detected in early-developing NO-overaccumulating fruits, possibly limiting energy supply and building blocks for fruit growth. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms by which endogenous NO fine-tunes the delicate hormonal network controlling shoot architecture, fruit set, and post-anthesis fruit development, emphasizing the relevance of NO-auxin interaction for plant development and productivity.

Regression models to stratify the copper toxicity responses and tolerance mechanisms of Glycine max (L.) Merr. plants.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Root antioxidant defense, restricted root-to-shoot Cu translocation, altered nutrient partition, and leaf gas exchange adjustments occurred as tolerance mechanisms of soybean plants to increasing soil Cu levels. The intensive application of copper (Cu) fungicides has been related to the accumulation of this metal in agricultural soils. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of increasing soil Cu levels on soybean (Glycine max) plants. Soybean was cultivated under greenhouse conditions in soils containing different Cu concentrations (11.2, 52.3, 79.4, 133.5, 164.0, 205.1, or 243.8 mg kg-1), and biochemical and morphophysiological plant responses were analyzed through linear and nonlinear regression models. Although Cu concentrations around 50 mg kg-1 promoted some positive effects on the initial development of soybean plants (e.g., increased root length and dry weight), these Cu concentrations also induced root oxidative stress and activated defense mechanisms (such as the induction of antioxidant response, N and S accumulation in the roots). At higher concentrations, Cu led to growth inhibition (mainly of the root), nutritional imbalance, and damage to the photosynthetic apparatus of soybean plants, resulting in decreased CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance. In contrast, low translocation of Cu to the leaves, conservative water use, and increased carboxylation efficiency contributed to the partial mitigation of Cu-induced stress. These responses allowed soybean plants treated with Cu levels in the soil as high as 90 mg kg-1 to maintain growth parameters higher than or similar to those of plants in the non-contaminated soil. These data provide a warning for the potentially deleterious consequences of the increasing use of Cu-based fungicides. However, it is necessary to verify how the responses to Cu contamination are affected by different types of soil and soybean cultivars.

Multifaceted roles of nitric oxide in tomato fruit ripening: NO-induced metabolic rewiring and consequences for fruit quality traits.

Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated as part of the ripening regulatory network in fleshy fruits. However, very little is known about the simultaneous action of NO on the network of regulatory events and metabolic reactions behind ripening-related changes in fruit color, taste, aroma and nutritional value. Here, we performed an in-depth characterization of the concomitant changes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit transcriptome and metabolome associated with the delayed-ripening phenotype caused by NO supplementation at the pre-climacteric stage. Approximately one-third of the fruit transcriptome was altered in response to NO, including a multilevel down-regulation of ripening regulatory genes, which in turn restricted the production and tissue sensitivity to ethylene. NO also repressed hydrogen peroxide-scavenging enzymes, intensifying nitro-oxidative stress and S-nitrosation and nitration events throughout ripening. Carotenoid, tocopherol, flavonoid and ascorbate biosynthesis were differentially affected by NO, resulting in overaccumulation of ascorbate (25%) and flavonoids (60%), and impaired lycopene production. In contrast, the biosynthesis of compounds related to tomato taste (sugars, organic acids, amino acids) and aroma (volatiles) was slightly affected by NO. Our findings indicate that NO triggers extensive transcriptional and metabolic rewiring at the early ripening stage, modifying tomato antioxidant composition with minimal impact on fruit taste and aroma.