Moderately High Nutrient Solution Electrical Conductivity Re-Shapes Stage Specific Carbon Metabolism Linked to Flavor For-Mation in Tomato Fruit
- 1Vegetable Research Institute, Hangzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China
Abstract
Modulating nutrient-solution electrical conductivity (EC) is an important strategy for improving the fruit flavor of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in soilless culture. Previous salinity studies have typically elevated EC through NaCl supplementation, which is physiologically distinct from raising EC via basal nutrient concentrations. Moreover, whether the quality-improving effect of moderately high electrical conductivity (HEC) arises from passive osmotic concentration or active metabolic reprogramming remains unclear. Tomato cultivar ‘Hangza 602′ was grown under CK (2.0 mS cm⁻¹) and HEC (3.0 mS cm⁻¹). Fruits were sampled at mature-green, breaker, pink and red-ripe stages for integrated transcriptomic, enzymatic and metabolomic analyses. HEC increased total soluble solids across ripening stages and promoted sugar and organic acid accumulation at pink and red-ripe stages, with a greater organic-acid increment reducing the sugar-acid ratio. Sugar transporter genes were induced at the breaker stage. At the pink stage, HEC elevated the activities of phosphofructokinase, citrate synthase and NADP-malate dehydrogenase without altering sucrose-phosphate synthase, indicating enhanced catabolic flux rather than sucrose biosynthesis. Sugars and citric acid accumulated persistently, whereas malic acid rose transiently then declined at red-ripe. Multiple downstream pathways were altered in HEC-treated red-ripe fruits. Collectively, HEC initiates stage-specific carbon-metabolic reprogramming combining osmotic and active effects, providing experimental insights for precision EC management in protected tomato production. Future work will further identify key regulatory genes governing this stage-specific metabolic response and validate the combined effects of EC and other environmental factors to develop robust soilless culture strategies for flavor improvement.
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BibTeX
@article{shao2026moderately,
title = {{Moderately High Nutrient Solution Electrical Conductivity Re-Shapes Stage Specific Carbon Metabolism Linked to Flavor For-Mation in Tomato Fruit}},
author = {Zhiyong Shao and Yuyuan Ma and Tonglin Wang and Zhixing Nie and Saisai Guo and Jirong Zheng},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27219531},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9531},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Moderately High Nutrient Solution Electrical Conductivity Re-Shapes Stage Specific Carbon Metabolism Linked to Flavor For-Mation in Tomato Fruit
AU - Zhiyong Shao
AU - Yuyuan Ma
AU - Tonglin Wang
AU - Zhixing Nie
AU - Saisai Guo
AU - Jirong Zheng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27219531
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9531
AB - Modulating nutrient-solution electrical conductivity (EC) is an important strategy for improving the fruit flavor of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in soilless culture. Previous salinity studies have typically elevated EC through NaCl supplementation, which is physiologically distinct from raising EC via basal nutrient concentrations. Moreover, whether the quality-improving effect of moderately high electrical conductivity (HEC) arises from passive osmotic concentration or active metabolic reprogramming remains unclear. Tomato cultivar ‘Hangza 602′ was grown under CK (2.0 mS cm⁻¹) and HEC (3.0 mS cm⁻¹). Fruits were sampled at mature-green, breaker, pink and red-ripe stages for integrated transcriptomic, enzymatic and metabolomic analyses. HEC increased total soluble solids across ripening stages and promoted sugar and organic acid accumulation at pink and red-ripe stages, with a greater organic-acid increment reducing the sugar-acid ratio. Sugar transporter genes were induced at the breaker stage. At the pink stage, HEC elevated the activities of phosphofructokinase, citrate synthase and NADP-malate dehydrogenase without altering sucrose-phosphate synthase, indicating enhanced catabolic flux rather than sucrose biosynthesis. Sugars and citric acid accumulated persistently, whereas malic acid rose transiently then declined at red-ripe. Multiple downstream pathways were altered in HEC-treated red-ripe fruits. Collectively, HEC initiates stage-specific carbon-metabolic reprogramming combining osmotic and active effects, providing experimental insights for precision EC management in protected tomato production. Future work will further identify key regulatory genes governing this stage-specific metabolic response and validate the combined effects of EC and other environmental factors to develop robust soilless culture strategies for flavor improvement.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -