Manipulation of a strigolactone transporter in tomato confers resistance to the parasitic weed broomrape.

Parasitic weeds of the Orobanchaceae family cause substantial economic losses and pose significant threats to global agriculture. However, management of such parasitism is challenging, and very few resistance genes have been cloned and characterized in depth. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study using 152 tomato accessions and identified as a key gene that mediates host resistance to by affecting the level of strigolactones (SLs) in root exudates. SLs are synthesized and released by host plants and act as germination stimulants for parasitic weeds. We found that SlABCG45 and its close homolog SlABCG44 were membrane-localized SL transporters with essential roles in exudation of SLs to the rhizosphere, resistance to and , and upward transport of SLs from roots to shoots. As a predominant environmental stimulant exacerbates parasitism, phosphorus deficiency dramatically induced expression and weakly induced expression via the transcription factors SlNSP1 and SlNSP2. Knockout of in tomato had little effect on yield traits in a broomrape-free field, but conferred increased resistance to different and species, resulting in an ∼30% yield increase in a -infested field. Our findings reveal that targeting a single gene by genome editing can confer broad-spectrum parasite resistance in tomato, providing an effective strategy for the sustainable control of parasitic plants in agriculture.