biostudies-literatureOuonkap SVYNCI NIH HHSNIGMS NIH HHS5319-5333.e5https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11665196biostudies-literatureUnknown34(22)Rising temperature extremes during critical reproductive periods threaten the yield of major grain and fruit crops. Flowering plant reproduction depends on the ability of pollen grains to generate a pollen tube, which elongates through the pistil to deliver sperm cells to female gametes for double fertilization. We used tomato as a model fruit crop to determine how high temperature affects the pollen tube growth phase, taking advantage of cultivars noted for fruit production in exceptionally hot growing seasons. We found that exposure to high temperature solely during the pollen tube growth phase limits fruit biomass and seed set more significantly in thermosensitive cultivars than in thermotolerant cultivars. Importantly, we found that pollen tubes from the thermotolerant Tamaulipas cultiCurrent biology : CBEnhanced pollen tube performance at high temperature contributes to thermotolerant fruit and seed production in tomato.PMC11665196P01 CA095616R35 GM139609Pease JBOuonkap SVYSmith SEPalanivelu RHarkey AFPryze KStyler BAlthiab Almasaud RLoraine AEJong EMuday GKJohnson MAReid RWFoteh Ali MPalaniappan MfalseEnhanced pollen tube performance at high temperature contributes to thermotolerant fruit and seed production in tomato.Rising temperature extremes during critical reproductive periods threaten the yield of major grain and fruit crops. Flowering plant reproduction depends on the ability of pollen grains to generate a pollen tube, which elongates through the pistil to deliver sperm cells to female gametes for double fertilization. We used tomato as a model fruit crop to determine how high temperature affects the pollen tube growth phase, taking advantage of cultivars noted for fruit production in exceptionally hot growing seasons. We found that exposure to high temperature solely during the pollen tube growth phase limits fruit biomass and seed set more significantly in thermosensitive cultivars than in thermotolerant cultivars. Importantly, we found that pollen tubes from the thermotolerant Tamaulipas culti2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Nov2026-06-06T13:20:45.802Z2026-05-31T03:07:15.667ZS-EPMC116651963951007310.1016/j.cub.2024.10.025