The MA Reader SlYTH2 Negatively Regulates Tomato Fruit Aroma by Impeding the Translation Process

-methyladenosine (mA) is a fundamentally important RNA modification for gene regulation, whose function is achieved through mA readers. However, whether and how mA readers play regulatory roles during fruit ripening and quality formation remains unclear. Here, we characterized SlYTH2 as a tomato mA reader protein and profiled the binding sites of SlYTH2 at the transcriptome-wide level. SlYTH2 undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation and promotes RNA-protein condensate formation. The target mRNAs of SlYTH2, namely mA-modified and associated with volatile synthesis, are enriched in SlYTH2-induced condensates. Through polysome profiling assays and proteomic analysis, we demonstrate that knockout of expedites the translation process of and , resulting in augmented production of aroma-associated volatiles. This aroma enrichment significantly increased consumer preferences for CRISPR-edited fruit over wild type. These findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms of mA in plant RNA metabolism and provided a promising strategy to generate fruits that are more attractive to consumers.