Combined High Irradiance and Water Deficit Alters the Anatomy and Physiology of Photomorphogenic Mutant Micro-Tom Plants

Ariana Bertola Carnevale, Alan Carlos da Costa (), Emily Carolina Duarte Santos, Adinan Alves da Silva, Priscila Ferreira Batista, Fábia Barbosa da Silva, Luciana Minervina de Freitas Moura and Caroline Müller
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Ariana Bertola Carnevale: Centro Universitário de Mineiros (UNIFIMES), Mineiros 75833-130, GO, Brazil
Alan Carlos da Costa: Laboratório de Ecofisiologia e Produtividade Vegetal, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano (IFGoiano), Rio Verde 75901-970, GO, Brazil
Emily Carolina Duarte Santos: Laboratório de Ecofisiologia e Produtividade Vegetal, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano (IFGoiano), Rio Verde 75901-970, GO, Brazil
Adinan Alves da Silva: Centro de Excelência em Agricultura Exponencial (CEAGRE), Rio Verde 75905-360, GO, Brazil
Priscila Ferreira Batista: Laboratório de Ecofisiologia e Produtividade Vegetal, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano (IFGoiano), Rio Verde 75901-970, GO, Brazil
Fábia Barbosa da Silva: Laboratório de Estudos Avançados em Agricultura Vertical, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano (IFGoiano), Rio Verde 75901-970, GO, Brazil
Luciana Minervina de Freitas Moura: Laboratório de Ecofisiologia e Produtividade Vegetal, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano (IFGoiano), Rio Verde 75901-970, GO, Brazil
Caroline Müller: Laboratório de Ecofisiologia e Produtividade Vegetal, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Goiano (IFGoiano), Rio Verde 75901-970, GO, Brazil

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-16

Abstract: Plants are continuously exposed to multiple environmental stressors throughout their lifecycle. Understanding their integrated physiological, biochemical, and anatomical responses under combined stress conditions is crucial for developing effective approaches to improve stress tolerance and maintain crop productivity. This study aimed to investigate the physiological, biochemical, and anatomical changes in photomorphogenic Micro-Tom plants exposed to high irradiance and water deficit—an abiotic stress combination that commonly co-occurs in natural environments but remains poorly understood in light-sensitive genotypes. We hypothesized that the high pigment 1 ( hp1 ) mutant, due to its enhanced light responsiveness, would display improved stress acclimation compared to the wild-type when exposed to combined stress factors. This study was conducted in a controlled plant growth chamber, using a randomized block design with five replicates. Two Micro-Tom genotypes ( wt and hp1 ) were exposed to control (soil at field capacity (FC) + 450 μmol m −2 s −1 PPFD) and combined stress (40% FC + 1800 μmol m −2 s −1 PPFD) conditions. Despite the higher concentration of chloroplast pigments in hp1 , its photosynthetic performance under combined stress was not significantly improved, and its defense mechanisms did not effectively mitigate the stress impacts. Anatomically, wt exhibited greater structural adjustment, observed by adaptations in the spongy parenchyma and mesophyll. Overall, the wt genotype showed stronger defense mechanisms, while hp1 was more susceptible to combined abiotic stress.

Keywords: high pigment 1 mutant; photomorphogenic micro-tomato; abiotic stress (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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