Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

A Natural Variation-informed Systems Genetics Framework for Tomato Multi-Stress Tolerance

Objective

Climate change poses escalating threats to agriculture, with drought and salinity causing substantial yield losses in tomato, Europe’s most economically significant vegetable crop. SOLGENSYS addresses this urgent challenge by deploying an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to identify, validate, and translate genetic and regulatory determinants of tomato tolerance to drought and salinity. Leveraging natural genetic diversity in a panel of tomato accessions and backcross lines, the project will combine genome-wide and transcriptome-wide association studies, and expression quantitative trait loci mapping to resolve the genetic and regulatory architecture of red-ripe fruit traits under water-limited and saline conditions. Multi-omics profiling, including ionomics, targeted metabolomics for lipids and vitamins, and transcriptomics, will be conducted on red-ripe fruit to capture trait expression at the critical sink stage. To probe regulatory plasticity, a seaweed-derived biostimulant will be applied at flowering and fruit set. Transcriptomic comparisons between treated and untreated genotypes will elucidate priming-induced reprogramming of hormonal networks and uncover stress mitigation mechanisms. The resulting multi-omics datasets will be integrated using machine learning frameworks. Top candidate genes and regulatory elements will undergo functional validation using CRISPR-based prime editing to introduce precise base edits or cis-regulatory motifs. Edited lines will be phenotyped for fruit yield, ion balance, and nutritional content. High-performing lines will be introgressed into elite cultivars through pre-breeding, delivering climate-tolerant germplasm aligned with EU Green Deal goals for sustainable, resource-efficient agriculture. SOLGENSYS exemplifies an end-to-end innovation pipeline, spanning from natural variation to gene discovery, genome editing, and breeding, and provides a scalable blueprint for enhancing crop tolerance under multiple stresses.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-SE - HORIZON TMA MSCA Staff Exchanges

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-SE-01

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

TSENTAR PO RASTITELNA SISTEMNA BIOLOGIYA I BIOTEHNOGIYA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 526 050,00
Address
RUSKI BLVD 139
Plovdiv
Bulgaria

See on map

Region
Югозападна и Южна централна България Южен централен Пловдив
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Participants (6)

Partners (2)

My booklet 0 0