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Petrozza A, Summerer S, Melfi D, Mango T, Vurro F, Bettelli M, Janni M, Cellini F, Carriero F. A Lycopene ε-Cyclase TILLING Allele Enhances Lycopene and Carotenoid Content in Fruit and Improves Drought Stress Tolerance in Tomato Plants. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:1284. [PMID: 37372464 DOI: 10.3390/genes14061284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In the scenario of climate change, the availability of genetic resources for tomato cultivation that combine improved nutritional properties and more tolerance to water deficiency is highly desirable. Within this context, the molecular screenings of the Red Setter cultivar-based TILLING platform led to the isolation of a novel lycopene ε-cyclase gene (SlLCY-E) variant (G/3378/T) that produces modifications in the carotenoid content of tomato leaves and fruits. In leaf tissue, the novel G/3378/T SlLCY-E allele enhances β,β-xanthophyll content at the expense of lutein, which decreases, while in ripe tomato fruit the TILLING mutation induces a significant increase in lycopene and total carotenoid content. Under drought stress conditions, the G/3378/T SlLCY-E plants produce more abscisic acid (ABA) and still conserve their leaf carotenoid profile (reduction of lutein and increase in β,β-xanthophyll content). Furthermore, under said conditions, the mutant plants grow much better and are more tolerant to drought stress, as revealed by digital-based image analysis and in vivo monitoring of the OECT (Organic Electrochemical Transistor) sensor. Altogether, our data indicate that the novel TILLING SlLCY-E allelic variant is a valuable genetic resource that can be used for developing new tomato varieties, improved in drought stress tolerance and enriched in fruit lycopene and carotenoid content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelo Petrozza
- ALSIA Centro Ricerche Metapontum Agrobios, s.s. Jonica 106, km 448.2, 75010 Metaponto, MT, Italy
| | - Stephan Summerer
- ALSIA Centro Ricerche Metapontum Agrobios, s.s. Jonica 106, km 448.2, 75010 Metaponto, MT, Italy
| | - Donato Melfi
- ALSIA Centro Ricerche Metapontum Agrobios, s.s. Jonica 106, km 448.2, 75010 Metaponto, MT, Italy
| | - Teresa Mango
- ALSIA Centro Ricerche Metapontum Agrobios, s.s. Jonica 106, km 448.2, 75010 Metaponto, MT, Italy
| | - Filippo Vurro
- Istituto dei Materiali per l'Elettronica e il Magnetismo (IMEM-CNR), Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, 43121 Parma, Italy
| | - Manuele Bettelli
- Istituto dei Materiali per l'Elettronica e il Magnetismo (IMEM-CNR), Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, 43121 Parma, Italy
| | - Michela Janni
- Istituto dei Materiali per l'Elettronica e il Magnetismo (IMEM-CNR), Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, 43121 Parma, Italy
| | - Francesco Cellini
- ALSIA Centro Ricerche Metapontum Agrobios, s.s. Jonica 106, km 448.2, 75010 Metaponto, MT, Italy
| | - Filomena Carriero
- ALSIA Centro Ricerche Metapontum Agrobios, s.s. Jonica 106, km 448.2, 75010 Metaponto, MT, Italy
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Marko D, El-Shershaby A, Carriero F, Summerer S, Petrozza A, Iannacone R, Schleiff E, Fragkostefanakis S. Identification and Characterization of a Thermotolerant TILLING Allele of Heat Shock Binding Protein 1 in Tomato. Genes (Basel) 2019; 10:genes10070516. [PMID: 31284688 PMCID: PMC6678839 DOI: 10.3390/genes10070516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Revised: 06/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The identification of heat stress (HS)-resilient germplasm is important to ensure food security under less favorable environmental conditions. For that, germplasm with an altered activity of factors regulating the HS response is an important genetic tool for crop improvement. Heat shock binding protein (HSBP) is one of the main negative regulators of HS response, acting as a repressor of the activity of HS transcription factors. We identified a TILLING allele of Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) HSBP1. We examined the effects of the mutation on the functionality of the protein in tomato protoplasts, and compared the thermotolerance capacity of lines carrying the wild-type and mutant alleles of HSBP1. The methionine-to-isoleucine mutation in the central heptad repeats of HSBP1 leads to a partial loss of protein function, thereby reducing the inhibitory effect on Hsf activity. Mutant seedlings show enhanced basal thermotolerance, while mature plants exhibit increased resilience in repeated HS treatments, as shown by several physiological parameters. Importantly, plants that are homozygous for the wild-type or mutant HSBP1 alleles showed no significant differences under non-stressed conditions. Altogether, these results indicate that the identified mutant HSBP1 allele can be used as a genetic tool in breeding, aiming to improve the thermotolerance of tomato varieties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominik Marko
- Department of Biosciences, Molecular Cell Biology of Plants, Goethe University, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- ALSIA Research Center Metapontum Agrobios S.S. Jonica 106 Km 448,2 -75100 Matera, Italy
| | - Asmaa El-Shershaby
- Department of Biosciences, Molecular Cell Biology of Plants, Goethe University, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Molecular Biology, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Division, National Research Centre, 12311 Dokki, Giza, Egypt
| | - Filomena Carriero
- ALSIA Research Center Metapontum Agrobios S.S. Jonica 106 Km 448,2 -75100 Matera, Italy
| | - Stephan Summerer
- ALSIA Research Center Metapontum Agrobios S.S. Jonica 106 Km 448,2 -75100 Matera, Italy
| | - Angelo Petrozza
- ALSIA Research Center Metapontum Agrobios S.S. Jonica 106 Km 448,2 -75100 Matera, Italy
| | - Rina Iannacone
- ALSIA Research Center Metapontum Agrobios S.S. Jonica 106 Km 448,2 -75100 Matera, Italy
| | - Enrico Schleiff
- Department of Biosciences, Molecular Cell Biology of Plants, Goethe University, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
- Frankfurt Institute of Advanced Studies (FIAS), D-60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
- Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (BMLS), Goethe University, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Sotirios Fragkostefanakis
- Department of Biosciences, Molecular Cell Biology of Plants, Goethe University, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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