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Sun C, Yao G, Zhao J, Chen R, Hu K, He G, Zhang H. SlERF109-like and SlNAC1 Coordinately Regulated Tomato Ripening by Inhibiting ACO1 Transcription. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1873. [PMID: 38339150 PMCID: PMC10855853 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
As a typical climacteric fruit, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is widely used for studying the ripening process. The negative regulation of tomato fruits by transcription factor SlNAC1 has been reported, but its regulatory network was unclear. In the present study, we screened a transcription factor, SlERF109-like, and found it had a stronger relationship with SlNAC1 at the early stage of tomato fruit development through the use of transcriptome data, RT-qPCR, and correlation analysis. We inferred that SlERF109-like could interact with SlNAC1 to become a regulatory complex that co-regulates the tomato fruit ripening process. Results of transient silencing (VIGS) and transient overexpression showed that SlERF109-like and SlNAC1 could regulate chlorophyll degradation-related genes (NYC1, PAO, PPH, SGR1), carotenoids accumulation-related genes (PSY1, PDS, ZDS), ETH-related genes (ACO1, E4, E8), and cell wall metabolism-related genes expression levels (CEL2, EXP, PG, TBG4, XTH5) to inhibit tomato fruit ripening. A dual-luciferase reporter and yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) showed that SlNAC1 could bind to the SlACO1 promoter, but SlERF109-like could not. Furthermore, SlERF109-like could interact with SlNAC1 to increase the transcription for ACO1 by a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assay, a luciferase complementation assay, and a dual-luciferase reporter. A correlation analysis showed that SlERF109-like and SlNAC1 were positively correlated with chlorophyll contents, and negatively correlated with carotenoid content and ripening-related genes. Thus, we provide a model in which SlERF109-like could interact with SlNAC1 to become a regulatory complex that negatively regulates the tomato ripening process by inhibiting SlACO1 expression. Our study provided a new regulatory network of tomato fruit ripening and effectively reduced the waste of resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Sun
- School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou 310012, China; (C.S.); (R.C.)
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China; (G.Y.); (J.Z.); (K.H.)
| | - Gaifang Yao
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China; (G.Y.); (J.Z.); (K.H.)
| | - Jinghan Zhao
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China; (G.Y.); (J.Z.); (K.H.)
| | - Ruying Chen
- School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou 310012, China; (C.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Kangdi Hu
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China; (G.Y.); (J.Z.); (K.H.)
| | - Guanghua He
- School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou 310012, China; (C.S.); (R.C.)
| | - Hua Zhang
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China; (G.Y.); (J.Z.); (K.H.)
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Chen T, Niu J, Sun Z, Chen J, Wang Y, Chen J, Luan M. Transcriptome Analysis and VIGS Identification of Key Genes Regulating Citric Acid Metabolism in Citrus. Curr Issues Mol Biol 2023; 45:4647-4664. [PMID: 37367044 DOI: 10.3390/cimb45060295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Citrus (Citrus reticulata) is one of the world's most widely planted and highest-yielding fruit trees. Citrus fruits are rich in a variety of nutrients. The content of citric acid plays a decisive role in the flavor quality of the fruit. There is a high organic acid content in early-maturing and extra-precocious citrus varieties. Reducing the amount of organic acid after fruit ripening is significant to the citrus industry. In this study, we selected a low-acid variety, "DF4", and a high-acid variety, "WZ", as research materials. Through WGCNA analysis, two differentially expressed genes, citrate synthase (CS) and ATP citrate-pro-S-lyase (ACL), were screened out, which related to the changing citric acid. The two differentially expressed genes were preliminarily verified by constructing a virus-induced gene-silencing (VIGS) vector. The VIGS results showed that the citric acid content was negatively correlated with CS expression and positively correlated with ACL expression, while CS and ACL oppositely control citric acid and inversely regulate each other. These results provide a theoretical basis for promoting the breeding of early-maturing and low-acid citrus varieties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianxin Chen
- Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
| | - Juan Niu
- Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
| | - Zhimin Sun
- Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
| | - Jing Chen
- Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
| | - Yue Wang
- Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
| | - Jianhua Chen
- Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
| | - Mingbao Luan
- Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
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Sun C, Yao GF, Li LX, Li TT, Zhao YQ, Hu KD, Zhang C, Zhang H. E3 ligase BRG3 persulfidation delays tomato ripening by reducing ubiquitination of the repressor WRKY71. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 192:616-632. [PMID: 36732924 PMCID: PMC10152667 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiad070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gaseous signaling molecule reported to play multiple roles in fruit ripening. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying H2S-mediated delay in fruit ripening remain to be established. Here, the gene encoding a WRKY transcription factor, WRKY71, was identified as substantially upregulated in H2S-treated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) via transcriptome profiling. The expression of WRKY71 was negatively associated with that of CYANOALANINE SYNTHASE1 (CAS1). Transient and stable genetic modification experiments disclosed that WRKY71 acts as a repressor of the tomato ripening process. CAS1 appears to play an opposite role, based on the finding that the ripening process was delayed in the cas1 mutant and accelerated in CAS1-OE tomatoes. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, yeast one-hybrid, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and transient transformation experiments showed that WRKY71 bound to the CAS1 promoter and suppressed its activation. Moreover, the persulfidation of WRKY71 enhanced its binding ability to the CAS1 promoter. Data from luciferase complementation and Y2H assays confirmed that WRKY71 interacts with a BOI-related E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase 3 (BRG3) and is ubiquitinated in vitro. Further experiments showed that modification of BRG3 via persulfidation at Cys206 and Cys212 led to reduced ubiquitination activity. Our findings support a model whereby BRG3 undergoes persulfidation at Cys206 and Cys212, leading to reduced ubiquitination activity and decreased interactions with the WRKY71 transcript, with a subsequent increase in binding activity of the persulfidated WRKY71 to the CAS1 promoter, resulting in its transcriptional inhibition and thereby delayed ripening of tomatoes. Our collective findings provide insights into a mechanism of H2S-mediated regulation of tomato fruit ripening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Sun
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Gai-fang Yao
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Li-xia Li
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Ting-ting Li
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Yu-qi Zhao
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Kang-di Hu
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Conghe Zhang
- Department of Agriculture Sciences, Winall Hi-Tech Seed Co., Ltd, Hefei 230009, China
| | - Hua Zhang
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
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Xu J, Liu S, Cai L, Wang L, Dong Y, Qi Z, Yu J, Zhou Y. SPINDLY interacts with EIN2 to facilitate ethylene signalling-mediated fruit ripening in tomato. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2023; 21:219-231. [PMID: 36204970 PMCID: PMC9829397 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The post-translational modification of proteins enables cells to respond promptly to dynamic stimuli by controlling protein functions. In higher plants, SPINDLY (SPY) and SECRET AGENT (SEC) are two prominent O-glycosylation enzymes that have both unique and overlapping roles; however, the effects of their O-glycosylation on fruit ripening and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here we report that SlSPY affects tomato fruit ripening. Using slspy mutants and two SlSPY-OE lines, we provide biological evidence for the positive role of SlSPY in fruit ripening. We demonstrate that SlSPY regulates fruit ripening by changing the ethylene response in tomato. To further investigate the underlying mechanism, we identify a central regulator of ethylene signalling ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE 2 (EIN2) as a SlSPY interacting protein. SlSPY promotes the stability and nuclear accumulation of SlEIN2. Mass spectrometry analysis further identified that SlEIN2 has two potential sites Ser771 and Thr821 of O-glycans modifications. Further study shows that SlEIN2 is essential for SlSPY in regulating fruit ripening in tomatoes. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel regulatory function of SlSPY in fruit and provide novel insights into the role of the SlSPY-SlEIN2 module in tomato fruit ripening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Xu
- Department of Horticulture, Zijingang CampusZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Sidi Liu
- Department of Horticulture, Zijingang CampusZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Licong Cai
- Department of Horticulture, Zijingang CampusZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Lingyu Wang
- Department of Horticulture, Zijingang CampusZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Yufei Dong
- Department of Horticulture, Zijingang CampusZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Zhenyu Qi
- Agricultural Experiment StationZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
| | - Jingquan Yu
- Department of Horticulture, Zijingang CampusZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plants Growth and DevelopmentAgricultural Ministry of ChinaHangzhouChina
| | - Yanhong Zhou
- Department of Horticulture, Zijingang CampusZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plants Growth and DevelopmentAgricultural Ministry of ChinaHangzhouChina
- Hainan Institute, Zhejiang UniversitySanyaChina
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5
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Guo H, Mao M, Deng Y, Sun L, Chen R, Cao P, Lai J, Zhang Y, Wang C, Li C, Li Y, Bai Q, Tan T, Yang J, Wang S. Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals That SlERF.D6 Synergistically Regulates SGAs and Fruit Development. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:860577. [PMID: 35463452 PMCID: PMC9024245 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.860577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are cholesterol-derived molecules that contribute to the pathogen defense in tomato but are toxic and considered to be antinutritional compounds to humans. APETALA2/Ethylene Responsive Factor (AP2/ERF) family transcription factors (TFs) play an indispensable role in various biological processes, such as plant growth and development, fruit ripening, biotic and abiotic stresses responses, and SGA biosynthesis. In this study, we identified 176 AP2/ERF genes that were domesticated or improved SlAP2/ERF in the tomato variome (Solanum lycopersicum) within either domestication or improvement sweeps, respectively. According to the RNA-sequencing data, 93 of the ERF genes with high transcriptional level (Transcripts Per Million, TPM > 1) belong to six clusters. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and metabolite-based genome-wide association study (mGWAS) analyses revealed that the expression level of the Solyc04g071770 (SlERF.D6) gene in the cluster six gradually increased as the fruit matured. Transient transformation verified that the overexpression of SlERF.D6 significantly promoted fruit ripening and regulated the expression of multiple genes in the SGA synthesis pathway, thereby affecting the SGA content of the fruit. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) showed that the silencing of SlERF.D6 delayed fruit ripening and influenced the content of SGAs. Our data provide new insights into AP2/ERF TFs in tomato, offer a candidate TF for fruit development and steroidal glycoalkaloids, and provide new resources for tomato breeding and improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Guo
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Mengdi Mao
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Yuan Deng
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Sanya, China
| | - Lisong Sun
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Sanya, China
| | - Ridong Chen
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Sanya, China
| | - Peng Cao
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Jun Lai
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Yueran Zhang
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Sanya, China
| | - Chao Wang
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Chun Li
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Yiran Li
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Qunhang Bai
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Tingting Tan
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Jun Yang
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Shouchuang Wang
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Sanya, China
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Wang R, Mao C, Jiang C, Zhang L, Peng S, Zhang Y, Feng S, Ming F. One Heat Shock Transcription Factor Confers High Thermal Tolerance in Clematis Plants. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:2900. [PMID: 33809330 PMCID: PMC7998627 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22062900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Clematis plants play an important role in botanical gardens. Heat stress can destroy the activity, state and conformation of plant proteins, and its regulatory pathway has been well characterized in Arabidopsis and some crop plants. However, the heat resistance response mechanism in horticultural plants including Clematis has rarely been reported. Here, we identified a heat-tolerant clematis species, Clematis vitalba. The relative water loss and electrolytic leakage were significantly lower under heat treatment in Clematis vitalba compared to Stolwijk Gold. Differential expression heat-tolerant genes (HTGs) were identified based on nonparametric transcriptome analysis. For validation, one heat shock transcription factor, CvHSF30-2, extremely induced by heat stimuli in Clematis vitalba, was identified to confer tolerance to heat stress in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Furthermore, silencing of HSF30-2 by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) led to heat sensitivity in tobacco and Clematis, suggesting that the candidate heat-resistant genes identified in this RNA-seq analysis are credible and offer significant utility. We also found that CvHSF30-2 improved heat tolerance of Clematis vitalba by elevating heat shock protein (HSP) expression, which was negatively regulated by CvHSFB2a. Taken together, this study provides insights into the mechanism of Clematis heat tolerance and the findings can be potentially applied in horticultural plants to improve economic efficiency through genetic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China; (R.W.); (C.M.); (L.Z.); (S.P.); (Y.Z.)
- The Biotechnology Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China
| | - Chanjuan Mao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China; (R.W.); (C.M.); (L.Z.); (S.P.); (Y.Z.)
- The Biotechnology Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China
| | - Changhua Jiang
- Shanghai Botanical Garden, Shanghai Urban Plant Resources Development and Application Engineering Technology Research Center, Shanghai 200231, China;
| | - Long Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China; (R.W.); (C.M.); (L.Z.); (S.P.); (Y.Z.)
- The Biotechnology Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China
| | - Siyuan Peng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China; (R.W.); (C.M.); (L.Z.); (S.P.); (Y.Z.)
- The Biotechnology Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China; (R.W.); (C.M.); (L.Z.); (S.P.); (Y.Z.)
- The Biotechnology Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China
| | - Shucheng Feng
- Shanghai Botanical Garden, Shanghai Urban Plant Resources Development and Application Engineering Technology Research Center, Shanghai 200231, China;
| | - Feng Ming
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China; (R.W.); (C.M.); (L.Z.); (S.P.); (Y.Z.)
- The Biotechnology Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China
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Validation of molecular response of tuberization in response to elevated temperature by using a transient Virus Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) in potato. Funct Integr Genomics 2021; 21:215-229. [PMID: 33611637 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-021-00771-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Temperature plays an important role in potato tuberization. The ideal night temperature for tuber formation is ~17 °C while temperature beyond 22 °C drastically reduces the tuber yield. Moreover, high temperature has several undesirable effects on the plant and tubers. Investigation of the genes involved in tuberization under heat stress can be helpful in the generation of heat-tolerant potato varieties. Five genes, including StSSH2 (succinic semialdehyde reductase isoform 2), StWTF (WRKY transcription factor), StUGT (UDP-glucosyltransferase), StBHP (Bel1 homeotic protein), and StFLTP (FLOWERING LOCUS T protein), involved in tuberization and heat stress in potato were investigated. The results of our microarray analysis suggested that these genes regulate and function as transcriptional factors, hormonal signaling, cellular homeostasis, and mobile tuberization signals under elevated temperature in contrasting KS (Kufri Surya) and KCM (Kufri Chandramukhi) potato cultivars. However, no detailed report is available which establishes functions of these genes in tuberization under heat stress. Thus, the present study was designed to validate the functions of these genes in tuber signaling and heat tolerance using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Results indicated that VIGS transformed plants had a consequential reduction in StSSH2, StWTF, StUGT, StBHP, and StFLTP transcripts compared to the control plants. Phenotypic observations suggest an increase in plant senescence, reductions to both number and size of tubers, and a decrease in plant dry matter compared to the control plants. We also establish the potency of VIGS as a high-throughput technique for functional validation of genes.
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RNA Interference (RNAi) in Tomato Crop Research. Methods Mol Biol 2020. [PMID: 33263909 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1201-9_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) is a posttranscriptional gene silencing phenomenon induced by double-stranded RNA. It has been widely used as a knockdown technology to analyze gene function in many organisms. In tomato, RNAi technology has widely been used as a reverse genetic tool for functional genomics study. Generally, RNAi is often achieved through transgenes producing hairpin RNA molecules. RNAi lines have the advantage with respect to more modern CRISPR/Cas9 mutants of different levels of downregulation of target gene, and allow the characterization of life-essential genes that cannot be knocked out without killing the organism. Also, RNAi allows to suppress gene expression in multigene families in a regulated manner. In this chapter, an efficient approach to create RNAi stable knockdown-transformed tomato lines is reported. In order, it describes the choice of the target silencing fragment, a highly efficient cloning strategy for the hairpin RNA construct production, a relatively easy procedure to transform and regenerate tomato plants using Agrobacterium tumefaciens and a methodology to test the goodness of the transformation procedure.
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Zhou B, Zeng L. Elucidating the role of highly homologous Nicotiana benthamiana ubiquitin E2 gene family members in plant immunity through an improved virus-induced gene silencing approach. PLANT METHODS 2017; 13:59. [PMID: 28736574 PMCID: PMC5521103 DOI: 10.1186/s13007-017-0210-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has been used in many plant species as an attractive post transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) method for studying gene function either individually or at large-scale in a high-throughput manner. However, the specificity and efficiency for knocking down members of a highly homologous gene family have remained to date a significant challenge in VIGS due to silencing of off-targets. RESULTS Here we present an improved method for the selection and evaluation of gene fragments used for VIGS to specifically and efficiently knock down members of a highly homologous gene family. Using this method, we knocked down twelve and four members, respectively of group III of the gene family encoding ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2) in Nicotiana benthamiana. Assays using these VIGS-treated plants revealed that the group III E2s are essential for plant development, plant immunity-associated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, expression of the gene NbRbohB that is required for ROS production, and suppression of immunity-associated programmed cell death (PCD) by AvrPtoB, an effector protein of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomons syringae. Moreover, functional redundancy for plant development and ROS production was found to exist among members of group III E2s. CONCLUSIONS We have found that employment of a gene fragment as short as approximately 70 base pairs (bp) that contains at least three mismatched nucleotides to other genes within any 21-bp sequences prevents silencing of off-target(s) in VIGS. This improved approach in the selection and evaluation of gene fragments allows for specific and efficient knocking down of highly homologous members of a gene family. Using this approach, we implicated N. benthamiana group III E2s in plant development, immunity-associated ROS production, and suppression of multiple immunity-associated PCD by AvrPtoB. We also unraveled functional redundancy among group III members in their requirement for plant development and plant immunity-associated ROS production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bangjun Zhou
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583 USA
| | - Lirong Zeng
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583 USA
- Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128 China
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