Two SEPALLATA MADS-Box Genes, and , Have Cooperative Functions Required for Sepal Development in Tomato

Overview

Journal Int J Mol Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Chemistry
Molecular Biology

Date 2024 Mar 13

PMID 38473738

Authors

Jianling Zhang

Zongli Hu

Qiaoli Xie

Tingting Dong

Jing Li

Guoping Chen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

MADS-box transcription factors have crucial functions in numerous physiological and biochemical processes during plant growth and development. Previous studies have reported that two MADS-box genes, and play important regulatory roles in the sepal development of tomato, respectively. However, the functional relationships between these two genes are still unknown. In order to investigate this, we simultaneously studied these two genes in tomato. Phylogenetic analysis showed that they were classified into the same branch of the SEPALLATA (SEP) clade. qRT-PCR displayed that both and transcripts are preferentially accumulated in sepals, and are increased with flower development. During sepal development, is increased but is decreased. Using the RNAi, tomato plants with reduced mRNA generated enlarged and fused sepals, while simultaneous inhibition of and led to larger (longer and wider) and fused sepals than that in -RNAi lines. qRT-PCR results exhibited that the transcripts of genes relating to sepal development, ethylene, auxin and cell expansion were dramatically changed in -RNAi sepals, especially in --RNAi sepals. Yeast two-hybrid assay displayed that SlMBP21 can interact with SlMBP21, SlAP2a, TAGL1 and RIN, and SlMADS1 can interact with SlAP2a and RIN, respectively. In conclusion, and cooperatively regulate sepal development in tomato by impacting the expression or activities of other related regulators or via interactions with other regulatory proteins.

Citing Articles

Abscission zone metabolism impacts pre- and post-harvest fruit quality: a very attaching story.

Tranbarger T, Tadeo F Front Plant Sci. 2025; 15:1524893.

PMID: 39980759 PMC: 11841436. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1524893.

The SEPALLATA-like gene in regulates flower development by interacting with other MADS-box subfamily genes.

Cong D, Zhao X, Ni C, Li M, Han L, Cheng J Front Plant Sci. 2025; 15:1503346.

PMID: 39944949 PMC: 11813943. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1503346.

Correction: Zhang et al. Two SEPALLATA MADS-Box Genes, and , Have Cooperative Functions Required for Sepal Development in Tomato. . . 2024, , 2489.

Zhang J, Hu Z, Xie Q, Dong T, Li J, Chen G Int J Mol Sci. 2024; 25(15).

PMID: 39126125 PMC: 11313192. DOI: 10.3390/ijms25158519.

A SEPALLATA MADS-Box Transcription Factor, SlMBP21, Functions as a Negative Regulator of Flower Number and Fruit Yields in Tomato.

Zhang J, Dong T, Hu Z, Li J, Zhu M, Chen G Plants (Basel). 2024; 13(10).

PMID: 38794491 PMC: 11125064. DOI: 10.3390/plants13101421.

References

Li N, Huang B, Tang N, Jian W, Zou J, Chen J . The MADS-Box Gene SlMBP21 Regulates Sepal Size Mediated by Ethylene and Auxin in Tomato. Plant Cell Physiol. 2017; 58(12):2241-2256. DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcx158. View

Messenguy F, Dubois E . Role of MADS box proteins and their cofactors in combinatorial control of gene expression and cell development. Gene. 2003; 316:1-21. DOI: 10.1016/s0378-1119(03)00747-9. View

Ferrario S, Busscher J, Franken J, Gerats T, Vandenbussche M, Angenent G . Ectopic expression of the petunia MADS box gene UNSHAVEN accelerates flowering and confers leaf-like characteristics to floral organs in a dominant-negative manner. Plant Cell. 2004; 16(6):1490-505. PMC: 490041. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.019679. View

Yu L, Miao Z, Qi G, Wu J, Cai X, Mao J . MADS-box transcription factor AGL21 regulates lateral root development and responds to multiple external and physiological signals. Mol Plant. 2014; 7(11):1653-1669. PMC: 4228986. DOI: 10.1093/mp/ssu088. View

Seymour G, Ryder C, Cevik V, Hammond J, Popovich A, King G . A SEPALLATA gene is involved in the development and ripening of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) fruit, a non-climacteric tissue. J Exp Bot. 2010; 62(3):1179-88. PMC: 3022409. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erq360. View

Fujisawa M, Nakano T, Ito Y . Identification of potential target genes for the tomato fruit-ripening regulator RIN by chromatin immunoprecipitation. BMC Plant Biol. 2011; 11:26. PMC: 3039564. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2229-11-26. View

Soyk S, Lemmon Z, Oved M, Fisher J, Liberatore K, Park S . Bypassing Negative Epistasis on Yield in Tomato Imposed by a Domestication Gene. Cell. 2017; 169(6):1142-1155.e12. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.04.032. View

Chen G, Hackett R, Walker D, Taylor A, Lin Z, Grierson D . Identification of a specific isoform of tomato lipoxygenase (TomloxC) involved in the generation of fatty acid-derived flavor compounds. Plant Physiol. 2004; 136(1):2641-51. PMC: 523329. DOI: 10.1104/pp.104.041608. View

Bemer M, Karlova R, Ballester A, Tikunov Y, Bovy A, Wolters-Arts M . The tomato FRUITFULL homologs TDR4/FUL1 and MBP7/FUL2 regulate ethylene-independent aspects of fruit ripening. Plant Cell. 2012; 24(11):4437-51. PMC: 3531844. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.112.103283. View

10.

Schilling S, Pan S, Kennedy A, Melzer R . MADS-box genes and crop domestication: the jack of all traits. J Exp Bot. 2018; 69(7):1447-1469. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erx479. View

11.

Yang Y, Jack T . Defining subdomains of the K domain important for protein-protein interactions of plant MADS proteins. Plant Mol Biol. 2004; 55(1):45-59. DOI: 10.1007/s11103-004-0416-7. View

12.

Angenent G, Franken J, Busscher M, van Dijken A, van Went J, Dons H . A novel class of MADS box genes is involved in ovule development in petunia. Plant Cell. 1995; 7(10):1569-82. PMC: 161013. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.7.10.1569. View

13.

de Bodt S, Raes J, Van de Peer Y, Theissen G . And then there were many: MADS goes genomic. Trends Plant Sci. 2003; 8(10):475-83. DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2003.09.006. View

14.

Nakano T, Kimbara J, Fujisawa M, Kitagawa M, Ihashi N, Maeda H . MACROCALYX and JOINTLESS interact in the transcriptional regulation of tomato fruit abscission zone development. Plant Physiol. 2011; 158(1):439-50. PMC: 3252084. DOI: 10.1104/pp.111.183731. View

15.

Ng M, Yanofsky M . Function and evolution of the plant MADS-box gene family. Nat Rev Genet. 2001; 2(3):186-95. DOI: 10.1038/35056041. View

16.

Vrebalov J, Ruezinsky D, Padmanabhan V, White R, Medrano D, Drake R . A MADS-box gene necessary for fruit ripening at the tomato ripening-inhibitor (rin) locus. Science. 2002; 296(5566):343-6. DOI: 10.1126/science.1068181. View

17.

Karlova R, Rosin F, Busscher-Lange J, Parapunova V, Do P, Fernie A . Transcriptome and metabolite profiling show that APETALA2a is a major regulator of tomato fruit ripening. Plant Cell. 2011; 23(3):923-41. PMC: 3082273. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.110.081273. View

18.

Mizukami Y, Ma H . Ectopic expression of the floral homeotic gene AGAMOUS in transgenic Arabidopsis plants alters floral organ identity. Cell. 1992; 71(1):119-31. DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90271-d. View

19.

Theissen G, Saedler H . Plant biology. Floral quartets. Nature. 2001; 409(6819):469-71. DOI: 10.1038/35054172. View

20.

Alvarez-Buylla E, Pelaz S, Liljegren S, Gold S, Burgeff C, Ditta G . An ancestral MADS-box gene duplication occurred before the divergence of plants and animals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000; 97(10):5328-33. PMC: 25828. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.97.10.5328. View