@article{Chen2025, 
author = {Shudong Chen and Yupan Zou and Xin Tong and Cao Xu},
title = {A tomato NBS-LRR gene Mi-9 confers heat-stable resistance to root-knot nematodes},
year = {2025},
journal = {Journal of Integrative Agriculture (JIA)},
volume = {24},
number = {7},
pages = {2869-2875},
keywords = {tomato, nematode, heat-stable resistance, Mi-9, genome editing},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1016/j.jia.2024.07.017},
doi = {10.1016/j.jia.2024.07.017},
abstract = {Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) are the most widespread soil-borne obligate endoparasites. They can infect the roots of many crops and cause significant yield losses. The only commercially available RKN-resistant gene in tomatoes, Mi-1.2, fails at soil temperatures above 28°C. We cloned the heat-stable RKN-resistant gene, Mi-9, from a gene cluster composed of seven nucleotide-binding sites and leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) type resistant genes in Solanum arcunum accession LA2157. Screening nematode infections in individual and combinatorial knockouts of five NBS-LRR genes showed that Mi-9 Candidate 4 (MiC-4) alone is sufficient to confer heat-stable RKN resistance. Our study identifies a new source of heat-stable resistance to RKN in tomatoes for challenging environmental conditions. We also showcase a roadmap for rapid characterization of resistance genes by combining comparative genomics and genome editing, with the potential to be utilized in other crops.}
}