A novel BSD domain-containing transcription factor controlling
vegetative growth, leaf senescence and fruit quality in tomato
Abstract
BSD (mammalian BTF2-like transcription factors, Drosophila
synapse-associated proteins and yeast DOS2-like proteins) is a domain
existing in a variety of organisms but its function has not been well
studied. In this study, we identified a novel BSD domain-containing
protein (SlBSD1) in tomato. Biochemical and subcellular assay indicated
SlBSD1 is a functional transcription factor and predominantly localized
in the nucleus. The genetic analyses suggested that SlBSD1 is a novel
negative regulator of vegetative growth and leaf senescence in tomato.
The SlBSD1-knockdown tomato plants exhibited retarded vegetative growth
and precocious leaf senescence, whereas SlBSD1-overexpression tomato
plants displayed the opposite phenotypes. The negative role of SlBSD1 in
leaf senescence was also supported by RNA-Seq analysis on the
SlBSD1-knockdown tomato leaf in comparison with the wild type tomato
leaf. Moreover, altered soluble solids contents in fruits were detected
in the SlBSD1-knockdown and SlBSD1-overexpression tomato plants. Taken
together, our data suggested that the novel transcription factor SlBSD1
plays important roles in controlling fruit quality and other
physiological processes in tomato, including vegetative growth and leaf
senescence.