Overview
- Researchers at the University of Hyderabad led by Prof Rahul Kumar and Abhishek Roychowdhury published a Journal of Experimental Botany paper reporting that the tomato gene PAP26b mobilises stored phosphate from older leaves to younger, growing tissues in seedlings.
- Molecular experiments that silenced PAP26b caused older leaves to lose their ability to remobilise phosphate and produced a systemic phosphate‑starvation response in young leaves and roots.
- The starvation response depended on the master regulator SlPHL1 and microRNA miR399, showing how loss of PAP26b sends molecular signals that mimic external phosphate deficiency.
- The team mapped PAP26b’s influence on the SlSPX2–SlPHL1 regulatory module, identifying PAP26b as a defined genetic control point for internal phosphate redistribution.
- Authors say targeting PAP26b could lower farmers’ fertilizer needs and cut soil damage from overuse, but they caution that the results are molecular and seedling‑level and require gene‑to‑field validation before agronomic use.