SlICE1 encoding a MYC-type transcription factor controls cold tolerance in tomato, Solanum lycopersicum

Abstract

Many abiotic and biotic stresses can reduce plant growth and development. Low temperature is one of the most harmful abiotic stresses, particularly for plants that are tropical or subtropical in origin. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the cold-stress response, components involved in the signal transduction of cold stress have been characterized. In this study, we characterized a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor encoding gene, SlICE1, from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), which shows similarity with Arabidopsis ICE1. e expression of SlICE1 was observed in younger leaves, owers, and green and red fruits. To characterize the function of SlICE1, overexpressing tomato lines were produced. SlICE1-overexpressing tomatoes exhibited chilling tolerance, and SlICE1 enhanced the expression of coldresponsive genes, such as SlCBF1 and SlDRCi7, as well as accumulation of ascorbic acid. e SlICE1 protein was degraded a er cold treatment. ese results indicate that SlICE1 enhances cold tolerance in tomatoes.

Overexpression of SIZ1 enhances tolerance to cold and salt stresses and attenuates response to abscisic acid in Arabidopsis thaliana

“…ICE1-dependent cold signaling for cold acclimation is highly conserved among plants (Miura and Furumoto 2013). For example, the overexpression of tomato ICE1 enhances chilling tolerance and the accumulation of antioxidants, several amino acids, and sugars in red tomato fruits (Miura et al 2012a;Miura et al 2012b). As SIZ proteins are also conserved in plants (Figure 3), it is likely that the heterologous overexpression of SIZ enhances cold tolerance in plants.…”

Accumulation of antioxidants and antioxidant activity in tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, are enhanced by the transcription factor SlICE1

“…In another study (Miura et al 2012), we determined that SlICE1 regulates cold signaling and cold tolerance in tomatoes. Overexpression of SlICE1 enhanced plant tolerance to cold stress and expression of cold-responsive genes, such as SlCBF1 and its regulon gene, SlDRCi7 (Miura et al 2012).…”

“…Overexpression of SlICE1 enhanced plant tolerance to cold stress and expression of cold-responsive genes, such as SlCBF1 and its regulon gene, SlDRCi7 (Miura et al 2012). In addition, SlICE1 overexpression enhanced accumulation of ascorbate in shoots (Miura et al 2012).…”

Tomato tolerance to abiotic stress: a review of most often engineered target sequences

“…Examples of interesting modifications of tomato plants can be found in a number of papers, e.g. by Hsieh et al (2002), Singh et al (2011), Mishra et al (2012, Miura et al (2012), Patade et al (2013), Rai et al (2013a, b), Shah et al (2013), , Shah et al (2015) and Zhao et al (2015).…”