Functional Analysis of SmMYB39 in Salt Stress Tolerance of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.)

Abstract

Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), a widely cultivated vegetable of the Solanaceae family, faces significant challenges in growth and yield due to soil salinization. This study aimed to investigate the functional role of the transcription factor SmMYB39 in salt stress tolerance in eggplant. This investigation was conducted through the utilization of bioinformatics analysis, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), subcellular localization, validation of transcriptional activation activity, Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS), and protein interactome analysis. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that SmMYB39 has the closest relationship with SlMYB41, and its promoter contains multiple stress-responsive elements. qRT-PCR results demonstrated that SmMYB39 was significantly upregulated after 12 h of salt stress. Subcellular localization results indicated that the SmMYB39 protein is localized in the nucleus and exhibits transcriptional activation activity. Using VIGS, we observed that silencing of SmMYB39 led to reduced salt stress tolerance in eggplant. In addition, we have conducted research on the protein interactome of SmMYB39. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that SmMYB39 is a crucial transcription factor involved in salt stress response and has the potential to enhance salt tolerance in eggplant.

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of Respiratory Burst Oxidase Homolog (RBOH) Gene Family in Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) under Abiotic and Biotic Stress

“…The cDNA preparation method and reagents used were referenced from previous research reports [ 28 , 31 ]. ChamQ SYBR qPCR Master Mix (Q311, Novogene, Nanjing, China) was utilized for qRT-PCR with SmActin as the reference gene.…”

“…The statistical calculations were performed using Microsoft Office Excel 2021 and IBM SPSS Statistics v 22, and the graphical representation was processed using GraphPad Prism v 9.5.0. [ 31 ].…”

“…We selected significantly upregulated members of SmRBOHs ( SmRBOHB , SmRBOHD , SmRBOHE1 , SmRBOHH2 ) under at least one stress condition. Following the methods established by previous researchers [ 28 , 31 ], SmRBOHs were cloned and inserted into the pBinGFP2 vector. The constructed vectors, along with the empty pBinGFP2 vector (used as a control), were transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain GV3101.…”

“…The constructed vectors, along with the empty pBinGFP2 vector (used as a control), were transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain GV3101. The Agrobacterium containing the desired vectors was adjusted to an OD 600 of 0.8 using the infection solution, and the formula of the infection solution is reported in previous reports [ 28 , 31 ]. The OD 600 = 0.8 suspension of Agrobacterium was aseptically injected into the leaves of N. benthamiana using 1 mL syringes.…”

“…ChamQ SYBR qPCR Master Mix (Q311, Novogene, Nanjing, China) was utilized for qRT-PCR with SmActin as the reference gene. The qRT-PCR program and reaction system were consistent with those described in previous research reports [28,31]. The primer sequences are provided in Table S3.…”