Author(s): Aniruddh Yadav, Vaishali, Naresh Pratap Singh, Swapnil Srivastava and M Narayana Ruthwek

Abstract: Abiotic stresses have a negative impact on the production, productivity, and quality of the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum. L), one of the most significant vegetable crops. Almost every phase of the tomato life cycle is impacted by abiotic factors such drought, excessive heat, and high salinity. Abiotic stress causes a yield loss of around 70%, depending on the stage of the plant and the length of the stress. Several wild tomato species possess the genes for stress resistance, but due to considerable genetic distance and other restrictions, it is highly challenging to introduce these genes into cultivars. One of the most environmentally friendly strategies for the successful production of tomatoes are the development of cultivars with improved abiotic stress tolerance. Attempts are being made in this area to comprehend the mechanism of stress tolerance, the finding of genes, and the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. For growing tomatoes, a number of omics strategies, instruments, and resources have previously been created. Studies on tomato genomes and transcriptomics have advanced significantly thanks to modern sequencing technology. Abiotic stress responses in plants have been linked to transcription factors from the abscisic acid-responsive element binding protein (AREB) family. Abscisic acid (ABA), a plant hormone that is vital in regulating stress-responsive gene expression under osmotic stress conditions including drought and excessive salinity, primarily functions through three bZIP transcription factors called AREB1/ABF2, AREB2/ABF4, and ABF3. Although their induction methods differ, the AREB members have been observed to be receptive to ABA and a variety of environmental stimuli. The AREB/ABF genes function in two ways: first, by producing functional proteins that stabilise plant cells and interact with other regulatory proteins in response to stress; second, by directly or indirectly influencing the expression of downstream genes through ABA.

DOI: 10.33545/26174693.2024.v8.i4d.972