# Heritable gene editing in tomato through viral delivery of isopentenyl transferase and single-guide RNAs to latent axillary meristematic cells

*PRI Rank #5 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited Plant Virus Research Studies Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/plant-virus-research-studies/2026/rank-5*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #5 |
| 18m citations | 39 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1073/pnas.2406486121 |
| Corresponding authors | Degao Liu, Evan E. Ellison, Daniel F. Voytas |
| Institution | University of Minnesota, United States |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited Plant Virus Research Studies Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/plant-virus-research-studies/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1073/pnas.2406486121](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2406486121)

## Topics

Heritable genome editing · Solanum lycopersicum · RNA viral vectors · isopentenyl transferase · single-guide RNAs · axillary meristems · Cas9-expressing transgenic plants · shoot apical meristem exclusion · meristem trimming · cytokinin biosynthesis · shoot induction · germline transmission · multiplexed gene editing · virus-mediated sgRNA delivery · tissue culture bypass · Somatic cell editing · dicotyledonous crops

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Plant Virus Research Studies Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/plant-virus-research-studies/2026. Accessed 2026-07-17.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```