Understanding drought stress response mechanisms in tomato

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is significantly affected by drought. An excessive amount of reactive oxidative species (ROS) is generated in tomato under drought stress, causing devastating effects on tomato growth and yield. Drought stress response and adaptation in plants are complex and their regulatory gene networks are being investigated to improve our understanding. The signaling molecule, ABA (abscisic acid), is one of the key players in drought stress response. Plants synthesize and accumulate ABA because ABA can act on membrane transporters, protein kinases, transcription factors, and other hormonal signaling pathways to elicit appropriate stress response. In this review, we will discuss our current knowledge of how tomato plants perform drought stress response. Moreover, we will offer future directions that can extend our understanding of tomato's adaptation and tolerance to drought stress.