Research Projects

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is among the most produced and consumed vegetables globally. Over the past few decades, climate change has caused more frequent occurrences of dual drought and heat stress that severely limits yields from 20% to 80%. Accumulating evidence has shown that the plant responses to dual stress differ from single stresses, making existing mitigation strategies insufficient. Plants experiencing drought tend to invest more energy in root development to improve water uptake. In contrast, the high temperature can disrupt meristematic activity and cell elongation, leading to compromised root growth in a heat-stressed plant. Hence, it is intriguing to know what root traits a plant would adopt under the threat of a dual stress. An optimal RSA promotes efficient water and nutrient uptake, maintains physiological stability and increases qualitative and quantitative yields. Therefore, understanding the changes in RSA traits is crucial in optimizing RSA for resilience against dual stress. Given the unpredictable climatic conditions and an urgency to feed the increasing population, it is critical to devise efficient, simple, and sustainable strategies to potentiate RSA under changing climate and ensure enhanced yield. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPBs) improve plant performance by facilitating nutrient uptake and inducing molecular changes. Although the role of microbes as biofertilizers in improving plant performance is well demonstrated, their role in dual stress management is underexplored. In the proposed project, we aim to evaluate the effects (through split-root system) and the contribution of PGPBs and PGPB-secreted metabolites (PGPBMs) (through reverse grafting) on reinforcing RSA and improving yield potential in tomato plants exposed to dual stress. By integrating transcriptomics, metabolomics, and high-throughput gene editing, we will dissect the PGPB-RSA regulatory network, identifying molecular candidates involved in PGPB-modulated RSA under dual stress. So far, researchers have focused majorly on the plant’s above-ground adaptive traits under dual or multiple stresses, and through the successful execution of this project, we will be able to identify RSA traits associated with dual stress. Focusing on RSA traits under dual stress, this study will simulate natural conditions to assess PGPB effects on source strength (carbon assimilation) and plant sink (yield and fruit nutrient content). It will also identify beneficial microbes enhancing tomato adaptation to dual stress. Overall, the successful completion of this project will offer an innovative microbial-based green solution to optimize root traits and source-sink strength and enhance crop resilience in an unpredictable and changing environment.