Analysis of the Tomato mTERF Gene Family and Study of the Stress Resistance Function of SLmTERF-13

Abstract

Mitochondrial transcription termination factor (mTERF) is a DNA-binding protein that is encoded by nuclear genes, ultimately functions in mitochondria and can affect gene expression. By combining with mitochondrial nucleic acids, mTERF regulates the replication, transcription and translation of mitochondrial genes and plays an important role in the response of plants to abiotic stress. However, there are few studies on mTERF genes in tomato, which limits the in-depth study and utilization of mTERF family genes in tomato stress resistance regulation. In this study, a total of 28 mTERF gene family members were obtained through genome-wide mining and identification of the tomato mTERF gene family. Bioinformatics analysis showed that all members of the family contained environmental stress or hormone response elements. Gene expression pattern analysis showed that the selected genes had different responses to drought, high salt and low temperature stress. Most of the genes played key roles under drought and salt stress, and the response patterns were more similar. The VIGS method was used to silence the SLmTERF13 gene, which was significantly upregulated under drought and salt stress, and it was found that the resistance ability of silenced plants was decreased under both kinds of stress, indicating that the SLmTERF13 gene was involved in the regulation of the tomato abiotic stress response. These results provide important insights for further evolutionary studies and contribute to a better understanding of the role of the mTERF genes in tomato growth and development and abiotic stress response, which will ultimately play a role in future studies of tomato gene function.

Molecular Basis of Crops and Fruit Plants in Response to Stress

“…In an integrated view, the studies with gene families of transcription factors such as mTERF in tomato [1], DREB in maize [2], and HSF in ginger [3] revealed the involve-ment of specific gene members in different stress conditions. Specific endophytes can improve the resistance of pepper [4] and tomato [5] plants to biotic or abiotic stresses.…”

“…The articles published in this SI covered the identification and characterization of transcription factors associated with stress resistance [1][2][3], beneficial endophytic/plant interaction [4,5], and molecular mechanisms involved in crops and fruit plants to stress tolerance [6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…Transcription factors are recognized as proteins that interact specifically with DNA sequences regulating the expression of a single gene or a set of genes involved in plant development or stress responses. In this SI, Su et al [1] analyzed the gene family of mitochondrial transcription termination factor (mTERF) in tomatoes, identifying 28 mTERF gene members through a genome-wide mining analysis. All gene members contained responsive elements associated with hormone or environmental stresses (drought, salt, and cold), which corroborated the gene expression analyses.…”

“…All gene members contained responsive elements associated with hormone or environmental stresses (drought, salt, and cold), which corroborated the gene expression analyses. In addition, the gene-silencing approach revealed a key role of mTERF13 gene members in abiotic stress resistance [1].…”