Plants have developed adaptive mechanisms to withstand mechanical stress, which can hinder their growth and productivity. Anthocyanins, water-soluble pigments found in plants, have been shown to confer tolerance to abiotic stresses in various plant species, including tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Although the biosynthesis and regulatory factors of anthocyanins have been well-characterized in tomato plants, it remains unclear whether mechanical stress influences the expression of these genes. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of rubbing-induced mechanical stress on the activation of genes involved in anthocyanin regulation and subsequent anthocyanin accumulation in tomato plants. Our results showed that rubbing treatment triggered morphological changes such as reduced plant height and altered stem and leaf color because of anthocyanin accumulation in different tomato varieties. Transcriptional analysis revealed significant upregulation of anthocyanin regulatory and biosynthetic genes in the rubbed stems when compared with the control stems. Furthermore, a negative regulator of anthocyanin, SlMYBL2, was down-regulated in the rubbed stems. However, no significant differences in the expression of anthocyanin-related genes were observed in leaves obtained from the rubbed stems, without directly rubbing the leaves themselves, when compared with the control leaves. These findings indicate that rubbing treatment specifically and immediately activated the expression of anthocyanin-related genes in the areas subjected to mechanical stress. Moreover, we suggest that specific regulatory factors influence anthocyanin accumulation throughout the plant, even in areas not directly exposed to mechanical stress.

植物已经发展出适应机制来承受机械压力，机械压力会阻碍它们的生长和生产力。花青素是植物中发现的水溶性色素，已被证明可以赋予各种植物物种非生物胁迫的耐受性，包括番茄植物（Solanum lycopersicum）L.）。尽管番茄植株中花青素的生物合成和调控因素已得到充分表征，但机械胁迫是否影响这些基因的表达仍不清楚。本研究的目的是检查摩擦引起的机械应力对参与花青素调节的基因激活以及随后番茄植株中花青素积累的影响。我们的结果表明，由于不同番茄品种中花青素的积累，摩擦处理引发了形态变化，例如株高降低和茎叶颜色改变。转录分析显示，与对照茎相比，摩擦茎中花青素调节和生物合成基因显着上调。此外，花青素的负调节剂，SlMYBL2，在摩擦的茎中下调。然而，与对照叶子相比，在没有直接摩擦叶子本身的情况下，从摩擦茎获得的叶子中没有观察到花青素相关基因的表达存在显着差异。这些发现表明，摩擦处理立即特异性地激活了受到机械应力的区域中花青素相关基因的表达。此外，我们认为特定的调节因素会影响整个植物中花青素的积累，即使是在没有直接暴露于机械应力的区域。