Genome-Wide Transcriptional Analysis Reveals Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Priming Induces Long-Term Stress Memory in Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum )

Kincső Decsi, Mostafa Ahmed () and Zoltán Tóth
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Kincső Decsi: Institute of Agronomy, Georgikon Campus, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 8360 Keszthely, Hungary
Mostafa Ahmed: Department of Agricultural Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
Zoltán Tóth: Institute of Agronomy, Georgikon Campus, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 8360 Keszthely, Hungary

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-22

Abstract: Addressing damage inflicted by environmental stress is difficult post-occurrence. The use of externally delivered gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) priming to healthy plants may serve as an effective preventive measure by stimulating plant defense pathways. A genome-wide transcriptional investigation was performed on tomato plants following GABA priming, with extended data about the stress memory of previously primed plants subjected to drought stress. GABA significantly stimulates starch and sucrose metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, porphyrin metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, biosynthesis of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan, phenylalanine metabolism, ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, and plant hormone signal transduction pathways. The initial priming effect could be remembered when subsequent environmental stress arose, but its influence intensified in plants that had previously undergone priming. The application of GABA can establish a novel form of preventative defense against the detrimental effects of stresses. It can effectively enhance long-term plant defense by facilitating the development of plant stress memory.

Keywords: GABA; priming; plant stress memory; mRNA sequencing; genome-wide transcriptomic analysis; next-generation sequencing (NGS); stress induced defense responses (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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