The tomato is a fruit vegetable rich in nutritional and medicinal value grown in greenhouses and fields worldwide. It is severely sensitive to heat stress, which frequently occurs with rising global warming. Predictions indicate a 0.2 °C increase in average surface temperatures per decade for the next three decades, which underlines the threat of austere heat stress in the future. Previous studies have reported that heat stress adversely affects tomato growth, limits nutrient availability, hammers photosynthesis, disrupts reproduction, denatures proteins, upsets signaling pathways, and damages cell membranes. The overproduction of reactive oxygen species in response to heat stress is toxic to tomato plants. The negative consequences of heat stress on the tomato have been the focus of much investigation, resulting in the emergence of several therapeutic interventions. However, a considerable distance remains to be covered to develop tomato varieties that are tolerant to current heat stress and durable in the perspective of increasing global warming. This current review provides a critical analysis of the heat stress consequences on the tomato in the context of global warming, its innate response to heat stress, and the elucidation of domains characterized by a scarcity of knowledge, along with potential avenues for enhancing sustainable tolerance against heat stress through the involvement of diverse advanced technologies. The particular mechanism underlying thermotolerance remains indeterminate and requires further elucidatory investigation. The precise roles and interplay of signaling pathways in response to heat stress remain unresolved. The etiology of tomato plants’ physiological and molecular responses against heat stress remains unexplained. Utilizing modern functional genomics techniques, including transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, can assist in identifying potential candidate proteins, metabolites, genes, gene networks, and signaling pathways contributing to tomato stress tolerance. Improving tomato tolerance against heat stress urges a comprehensive and combined strategy including modern techniques, the latest apparatuses, speedy breeding, physiology, and molecular markers to regulate their physiological, molecular, and biochemical reactions.

Mediator is a conserved multiprotein complex important for transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Arabidopsis Mediator subunit MED18 regulates flowering, hormone signaling and plant immunity. Here we report that Arabidopsis MED18 interacted with NUCLEAR RNA POLYMERASE D2a (NRPD2a), the second largest subunit of the nuclear Pol IV and V, which function in RNA-directed DNA methylation and epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Mutants for both MED18 and NRPD2a were compromised in resistance to necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Mutants for NRPD1a, the largest subunit of Pol IV, were also compromised in resistance to Botrytis, supporting a critical role of Pol IV and V in plant defense against Botrytis. Increased Botrytis susceptibility of both the med18 and nrpd2a mutants were associated with reduced accumulation of reactive oxygen species, which are known to promote resistance to Botrytis. Both the basal and pathogen-induced levels of salicylic acid and jasmonic acid were also significantly altered in the med18 and nrpd2a mutants. Transcriptome profiling found that MED18 and NRPD2a affected both unique and overlapping sets of genes in a broad spectrum of biological processes and pathways that influence plant–pathogen interaction. The genes altered in expression in the med18 and nrpd2a mutants include disease resistance proteins, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid signaling and responses, which are known to affect resistance to necrotrophic pathogens. The novel interaction between subunits of Mediator and plant-specific RNA polymerases provides a new mechanism for epigenetic regulation of resistance and expression of defense-related genes in plant immunity.

Cinnamate-4-hydroxylase (C4H) and 4-hydroxycinnamate CoA ligase (4CL) are two enzymes envolved in Phenylpropanoid synthesis pathway from lignin. They catalyze hydroxy-L-phenylalanine into cinnamic acid and coenzyme A esters. This paper constructs RNA interference vectors of C4H and 4CL genes, transforms “Zhonghua 11”, a rice variety into single-gene C4H and 4CL and double-gene C4HL transgenic plants using Agrobacterium mediation. By measuring the lignin content in the straw of mature T0 generation transgenic rice plant, it shows that lignin content in transgenic plants is lower than that of non-transgenic ones. According to semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis of T1 generation, C4H and 4CL gene expressions in transgene-positive plants are significantly lower than those of wild type. C4H transgenic rice plant has lower lignin content but does not affect normal field agronomic traits. The study provides reference for comprehensive utilization of rice straw

In the context of the rapid transformation of global agricultural production towards intensification and intelligence, the precise and intelligent management of horticultural crop production processes is key to enhancing resource utilization efficiency and industry profitability. Crop growth and development models, as digital representations of the interactions between environment, crops, and management, are core tools for achieving intelligent decision-making in facility production. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the advancements in intelligent management models and systems for horticultural crop growth and development. It introduces the developmental stages of horticultural crop growth models and the integration of multi-source data, systematically organizing and analyzing the modeling mechanisms of crop growth and development process models centered on developmental stages, photosynthesis and respiration, dry matter accumulation and allocation, and yield and quality formation. Furthermore, it summarizes the current status of expert decision-support system software development and application based on crop models, achieving comprehensive functionalities such as data and document management, model parameter management and optimization, growth process and environmental simulation, management plan design and effect evaluation, and result visualization and decision product dissemination. This illustrates the pathway from theoretical research to practical application of models. Addressing the current challenges related to the universality of mechanisms, multi-source data assimilation, and intelligent decision-making, the paper looks forward to future research directions, aiming to provide theoretical references and technological insights for the future development and system integration of intelligent management models for horticultural crop growth and development.

Rising ambient temperatures associated with global climate change present a major threat to plant productivity by imposing heat stress (HS) that disrupts c