Hidden signals in water reveal disease early in tomato plants
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
image:
Tomato plants displaying Fusarium wilt, illustrating the visible symptoms and emphasizing their subjective interpretation.
view moreCredit: (Credit - Shani Friedman (Goldfarb))
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed an innovative method for the early detection of Fusarium wilt in tomato plants by monitoring subtle changes in the plants' water use. The study demonstrates that measuring water-relation traits such as transpiration rates can identify the disease well before visual symptoms appear. This breakthrough provides a sensitive, quantitative approach to assessing disease severity, pathogen virulence, and plant susceptibility, offering breeders and researchers a powerful tool to mitigate crop losses and improve agricultural sustainability.
Link to the photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sPu5PL2okE9MrfRIEyVjcNMUMe8uKKDy?usp=drive_link
A study led by PhD student Shani Friedman (Goldfarb), under the supervision of Prof. Menachem Moshelion from the Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has demonstrated a new approach to detect Fusarium wilt in tomatoes at its earliest stages, long before symptoms become visible. This research offers significant implications for plant science, providing breeders and scientists a robust method to improve early disease detection and deepen understanding of plant-pathogen interactions.
Fusarium wilt, caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, is a devastating disease that results in substantial economic losses worldwide. Traditionally, the detection of plant diseases such as Fusarium wilt relies on visual assessments, which can often be subjective and inaccurate. By the time symptoms are visible, substantial damage has usually already occurred.
This study, however, takes a different approach, focusing on precise water-relation measurements using a high-throughput physiological phenotyping system. The research team employed advanced lysimeter technology to continuously monitor transpiration rates and biomass changes of tomato plants in a semi-controlled greenhouse environment. Remarkably, they observed a decrease in the plants' transpiration rates days to weeks before any visual symptoms appeared.
“This research demonstrates that water-related physiological traits like transpiration can act as sensitive, reliable early indicators of Fusarium infection,” explained Shani Friedman. “We were able to quantitatively measure how plants respond to the pathogen well before they exhibited the traditional visible symptoms of disease.”
The study's quantitative method not only detects disease early but also measures pathogen virulence and plant susceptibility. This gives researchers and farmers clear, numeric data to determine how aggressively a pathogen is affecting crops, and to assess how different tomato varieties resist or tolerate Fusarium wilt.
Dr. Shay Covo, a key collaborator from the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, emphasized the broader relevance of the findings:
“This quantitative approach opens new directions for studying plant–pathogen interactions. It enables us to understand better how pathogens influence plants at the early stages of the disease” Prof. Menachem Moshelion highlighted the potential of the methodology beyond tomato plants: “Our approach opens exciting possibilities not just for tomato plants, but for agricultural practices in general. Early detection through physiological monitoring can significantly reduce crop losses and enhance sustainable agricultural management.”
This innovative methodology has potential beyond tomatoes. The research team also successfully applied it to potato plants infected with late blight, demonstrating the versatility of their physiological monitoring system for other important plant diseases.
Aerial view of tomato plants connected to lysimeter units, illustrating the high-resolution setup used to track water-use dynamics and biomass in real time.
Tomato plants growing in a semi-controlled greenhouse on a high-throughput lysimeter-based physiological phenotyping platform. This system allows continuous measurement of plant water use.
Tomato plants growing in a semi-controlled greenhouse on a high-throughput lysimeter-based physiological phenotyping platform. This system allows continuous measurement of plant water use.
Erlenmeyer flasks containing cultures of different Fusarium isolates used to infect tomato plants in the study.
Erlenmeyer flasks containing cultures of different Fusarium isolates used to infect tomato plants in the study.
Credit
(Credit - Shani Friedman (Goldfarb))
(Credit - Shani Friedman (Goldfarb))
Journal
Plant Disease
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Early Detection and Quantification of Fusarium Wilt in Greenhouse-Grown Tomato Plants Using Water-Relation Measurements
Tomato plants delay shoot meristem maturation to achieve heat-stress resilience
Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
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Tomato plants slow shoot meristem maturation to achieve heat-stress resilience
view moreCredit: IGDB
As global temperatures continue to rise, extreme heatwaves pose a significant threat to agricultural productivity. Studies estimate that for every 1°C increase above pre-industrial levels, crop yields decline by approximately 6-8%. The ability of plants to withstand heat stress is therefore critical for ensuring food security, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms have largely remained elusive.
Now, however, a new study led by Prof. XU Cao's team at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences sheds light on an adaptive strategy that may be pivotal in developing heat-resilient crop varieties amid escalating climate change. Specifically, the study reveals a novel mechanism by which tomato plants actively mitigate heat stress and stabilize yield through the developmental reprogramming of shoot apical stem cells.
The research was published in Developmental Cell on April 2.
Stem cells in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) are essential for aerial morphogenesis—the process by which plants develop above-ground structures—and directly influence crop yield. However, heat stress can cause abnormal differentiation or even necrosis of these stem cells, resulting in developmental defects, plant mortality, and significant yield losses. Understanding how SAM stem cells adapt to heat stress is therefore critical for advancing cultivation techniques and breeding more resilient crop varieties.
In their study, Prof. XU Cao and his team identified a key molecular adaptation mechanism in tomato plants. Under heat stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulate and promote the phase separation of TERMINATING FLOWER (TMF), a floral repressor. This modification prolongs the transcriptional repression of floral identity genes by TMF condensates, effectively reprogramming SAM development. By delaying shoot maturation, the plant extends vegetative growth, allowing it to avoid premature reproductive transitions under unfavorable conditions.
During early vegetative growth, tomato plants can enter a dormancy-like state in response to heat stress, temporarily suspending their maturation program. Once temperatures normalize, development resumes, ensuring stable yields. This strategic suspension has been shown to prevent 34–63% of yield losses in the first fruit truss, highlighting its significant role in heat resilience.
The study proposes that this redox-controlled bet-hedging mechanism functions as a survival strategy for sessile plants, enabling them to delay flowering during adverse conditions while ensuring reproductive success once environmental stresses subside.
The researchers emphasized that this discovery provides a new conceptual framework for developing climate-smart crops with environmentally responsive yield stability. The mechanistic insights identified in this study could guide precision breeding efforts aimed at improving agricultural productivity in a changing climate.
Journal
Developmental Cell
Article Title
ROS Burst Prolongs Transcriptional Condensation to Slow Shoot Apical Meristem Maturation and Achieve Heat-Stress Resilience in Tomato
Article Publication Date
2-Apr-2025
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