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<p>In plant–pathogen interactions, infection typically leads to growth inhibition or even host mortality. However, under certain environmental conditions, some pathogens can paradoxically enhance host fitness in response to stress. Viroids, such as potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd), are circular single-stranded RNAs that cause plant diseases. In this study, PSTVd was used as a model to investigate adaptive host–pathogen interactions under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-simulated drought stress. Tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>) plants were infected with PSTVd and then subjected to drought treatment using 15% PEG 6000. Compared with uninfected controls, PSTVd-infected plants exhibited increased drought tolerance. High-throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) was employed to compare gene expression profiles between infected and uninfected plants under PEG-simulated drought stress. The results suggest that PSTVd may enhance drought tolerance by coordinately downregulating genes encoding light-harvesting complex proteins of photosystems I and II (LHC I/II). This suppression likely reduces photosynthetic electron flux, which may in turn limits stomatal conductance and improves water retention capacity under PEG-simulated drought stress. Our findings suggest that PSTVd infection can increase drought tolerance in tomato and may have potential applications in crop improvement under water-limited conditions.</p>

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Potato spindle tuber viroid infection enhances PEG-simulated drought stress tolerance in tomato by modulating photosynthesis and stress-responsive pathways

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月19日

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  • Luyou Wang,
  • Yuxin Nie,
  • Yuhong Zhang,
  • Fei Yan,
  • Jian Wu

摘要

In plant–pathogen interactions, infection typically leads to growth inhibition or even host mortality. However, under certain environmental conditions, some pathogens can paradoxically enhance host fitness in response to stress. Viroids, such as potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd), are circular single-stranded RNAs that cause plant diseases. In this study, PSTVd was used as a model to investigate adaptive host–pathogen interactions under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-simulated drought stress. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants were infected with PSTVd and then subjected to drought treatment using 15% PEG 6000. Compared with uninfected controls, PSTVd-infected plants exhibited increased drought tolerance. High-throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) was employed to compare gene expression profiles between infected and uninfected plants under PEG-simulated drought stress. The results suggest that PSTVd may enhance drought tolerance by coordinately downregulating genes encoding light-harvesting complex proteins of photosystems I and II (LHC I/II). This suppression likely reduces photosynthetic electron flux, which may in turn limits stomatal conductance and improves water retention capacity under PEG-simulated drought stress. Our findings suggest that PSTVd infection can increase drought tolerance in tomato and may have potential applications in crop improvement under water-limited conditions.