Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Phytopathologia Mediterranea, cilt.64, sa.2, ss.229-244, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Summary. Plants are exposed to adverse growth conditions, and have developed mechanisms to adapt and survive under abiotic and biotic stresses. The plant’s response to the combined effects of biotic and abiotic stress represents a highly complex phenomenon, involving intricate interactions between the host plant and associated pathogens, further modulated by the intensity, duration, and type of environmental stressors. Tomato production can be severely affected by tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV), and salt stress inhibits tomato crop productivity, although molecular regulation controlling tomato resistance to salt stress remains unclear. The cellulose synthase (Ces) and cellulose synthase-like (Csl) gene families control biosynthesis of cellulose and hemicellulose in plant cell walls, and Ces/Csl genes are also involved in resistance against abiotic and biotic stresses, including those from viruses and salt. To gain understanding of the molecular basis of combined viruses (TYLCV/ToCV) and salt stresses on the tomato cultivars Money Maker and Yegana, comparative analyses of four cellulose synthase genes (CesA/Csl) were carried out using Quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT -qPCR). Tomato physiological parameters, including relative water content, specific leaf weight, leaf area, and dry biomass, were also assessed. CesA/Csl genes (Ces-A2, Csl-D3,2, Csl-D3,1, Csl-H1) were up-regulated in virus-infected plants. These genes, associated with the biosynthesis of CesA/Csl genes are probably pivotal in defense mechanisms against TYLCV/ToCV. Relative water content in plants subjected to combined ToCV and salt stresses were similar to those observed in non-inoculated controls. Congruence between the outcomes of these analyses and physiological studies indicates that the Yegana tomato cultivar may be as sensitive to these stresses as the Money Maker cultivar. This research emphasizes the importance of up-regulating specific genes, namely Csl-D3,1, Csl-D3,2, and Ces-A2, to confer host resistance to the complex effects of salt and virus stresses. This study will facilitate development of stress-resistant tomato plants, and contribute to elucidating the molecular mechanisms of CesA/Csl genes in abiotic and biotic stress situations.