Defense Strategies: The Role of Transcription Factors in Tomato–Pathogen Interaction

Abstract

Tomato, one of the most cultivated and economically important vegetable crops throughout the world, is affected by a panoply of different pathogens that reduce yield and affect product quality. The study of tomato–pathogen system arises as an ideal system for better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying disease resistance, offering an opportunity of improving yield and quality of the products. Among several genes already identified in tomato response to pathogens, we highlight those encoding the transcription factors (TFs). TFs act as transcriptional activators or repressors of gene expression and are involved in large-scale biological phenomena. They are key regulators of central components of plant innate immune system and basal defense in diverse biological processes, including defense responses to pathogens. Here, we present an overview of recent studies of tomato TFs regarding defense responses to biotic stresses. Hence, we focus on different families of TFs, selected for their abundance, importance, and availability of functionally well-characterized members in response to pathogen attack. Tomato TFs’ roles and possibilities related to their use for engineering pathogen resistance in tomato are presented. With this review, we intend to provide new insights into the regulation of tomato defense mechanisms against invading pathogens in view of plant breeding.

Single‐cell RNA sequencing profiles reveal cell type‐specific transcriptional regulation networks conditioning fungal invasion in maize roots

“…For example, a TF gene MYB42, a target of three key regulators (MO2, ASN3, and JRG21) (Figure 4b, Table S9), which was involved in the cell wall structure by repressing genes of the lignin pathways (Sonbol et al, 2009), was also predicted to be associated with lignin synthesis through GENIE3 method (Figure 7c). Other TF target genes, belonging to WRKY, bHLH, and NAC families which were reported to be important factors in plant-pathogen interactions (Amorim et al, 2017;Campos et al, 2022), were found to associate with defence hormone signalling, ROS burst, and HR defence (Figure 7b-d,g), indicating the accuracy of our prediction tool to reveal the interplay among cell type-specific regulatory networks.…”

Mapping of genomic regions linked to stemphylium blight (Stemphylium botryosum Wallr.) resistance in lentil using linkage mapping and marker-trait association analysis

“…Some of the SNPs in high LD with signi cant SNP markers were located within genes described as LRR receptor-like kinase (Lcu.2RBY.7g050380), putative transmembrane protein (Lcu.2RBY.4g065310) and transcription factor (Lcu.2RBY.5g043610). These genes might play an important role in gene transcription, signaling, and defense response to pathogens (Afzal et al 2008;Thomma et al 2011;Hamel et al 2012;Jiang et al 2018;Campos et al 2022). The LD SNP markers located within these genes can be candidate markers for validation.…”

Contrasting Roles of Ethylene Response Factors in Pathogen Response and Ripening in Fleshy Fruit

“…Fruit pathogens include pathogenic fungi, bacteria, viruses, viroids, etc. [ 74 ]. Compared to parasitic microoganisms, pathogenic fungi with necrotrophic lifestyles are much more devastating, killing the host tissue and eventually causing rotting.…”

“…PR genes are regulated by several plant hormones, such as SA and JA [ 78 ]. TFs are central components of plant defense signaling and adaptation mechanisms [ 74 ]. WRKY62 and WRKY 70 TFs are involved in the JA and SA signaling pathways [ 79 , 80 ], and WRKY TFs can regulate the transcription of many PR genes by binding to the W-box in their promoters [ 81 ].…”