Reduced Light Intensity Potentiates Resistance to Botrytis cinerea in Tomato by Directing Phenylpropanoid Flux Towards Lignification and Maintaining Reactive Oxygen Species Homeostasis.

Low light intensity (200 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹) most effectively attenuates Botrytis cinerea disease progression in tomato by coordinating stomatal closure, lignification, and redox homeostasis.

• Why it matters: Light modulation could support sustainable disease management, but how light intensity regulates tomato defenses against necrotrophic pathogens like B. cinerea is largely unclear.
• What they did: Tomato plants were exposed to 200, 500, and 800 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, then analyzed with pathological/cytological observations plus transcriptional and metabolic pathway profiling; exogenous phenylalanine and the PAL inhibitor AIP tested phenylpropanoid flux.
• The result: Low-light-induced resistance is linked to phenylpropanoid metabolic reprogramming and ROS homeostasis, implying defense network coordination rather than direct pathogen inhibition by light intensity.

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