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SlHY5 is a necessary regulator of the cold acclimation response in tomato

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Abstract

HY5, a bZIP transcription factor, plays a key role in the light- and cold-stress signaling pathways. In this study, the tomato HY5 gene (SlHY5) was isolated and characterized with respect to its function in cold-stress tolerance. The expression level of SlHY5 was similar in the root, stem, leaf, flower, and fruit of tomato. SlHY5 was upregulated gradually during cold stress and was induced in response to NaCl and the plant hormone abscisic acid. Overexpression of SlHY5 in tomato markedly increased cold stress tolerance. In addition, the SlHY5-overexpressing lines exhibited enhanced expression of genes related to antioxidant defense systems (SOD and CAT) and anthocyanin biosynthesis (CHS, CHI, and F3H) under cold stress compared to the wild-type plants, which suggested that overexpression of SlHY5 alleviated oxidative damage and lipid peroxidation, relieved membrane injuries induced by cold stress, enhanced anthocyanin accumulation, and thereby enhanced the cold-stress tolerance of SlHY5-overexpressing tomato plants. Furthermore, SlHY5 was involved in the regulation of several cold-induced genes, including PR1, CYSb, LEA, Osmotin, and ICE1, suggesting that constitutive overexpression of SlHY5 in tomato modulates the expression of other stress-responsive genes, thereby imparting cold tolerance. In conclusion, these results indicate that SlHY5 enhances plant tolerance to cold stress and that it may be used to facilitate the enhancement of stress tolerance in tomato.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative real-time PCR

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

H2O2 :

The hydrogen peroxide

O2− :

Superoxide anion

DAB:

Diaminobenzidine

NBT:

Nitroblue tetra-zolium

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

Catalase

POD:

Peroxidase

PR1:

Pathogenesis-related proteins 1

CYSb:

Cystatin b gene

LEA:

Late embryogenesis abundant

ICE1:

Inducer of CBF expression 1

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Acknowledgements

This study is supported by Shaanxi Natural Science Foundation of China (2018JQ3056).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Nani Han, Shuya Fan, Tiantian Zhang, Hao Sun, Yongxing Zhu, Haijun Gong & Jia Guo

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  1. Nani Han
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  2. Shuya Fan
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  3. Tiantian Zhang
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  4. Hao Sun
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  5. Yongxing Zhu
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  6. Haijun Gong
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Contributions

JG analyzed the results and wrote the paper. SF revised the manuscript. NH and TZ conducted most of the experiments. HS conducted experiments of subcellular localization of SlHY5. YZ analyzed the original data. HG conceived the idea for the project, and revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Haijun Gong or Jia Guo.

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Han, N., Fan, S., Zhang, T. et al. SlHY5 is a necessary regulator of the cold acclimation response in tomato. Plant Growth Regul 91, 1–12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-020-00583-7

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