Single cell RNA-Seq of "Heinz" Solanum Lycopersicum pistils under acute heat stress

Temperatures above the optimum can significantly reduce crop yields, particularly by impairingreproductive success. In Solanum lycopersicum (tomato), heat stress elevates reactive oxygenspecies (ROS) levels, compromising pollen performance. This study investigates thetranscriptomic dynamics of pistils from the thermosensitive Heinz tomato variety, focusing onboth unpollinated and pollinated pistils. Pistil samples were subjected to heat stress treatment at37C for 5 hours, following an initial 3-hour incubation at 28C. Control samples remained at28C throughout. Both unpollinated and pollinated pistil samples were collected after 8 hours ofincubation for single-cell RNA sequencing analysis.