Tubby-like proteins (TLPs) are transcription factors that are widely present in eukaryotes and generally participate in growth and developmental processes. Using genome databases, a total of 22 putative TLP genes were identified in the soybean genome, and unevenly distributed across 13 chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the predicted GmTLP proteins were divided into five groups (I-V). Gene structure, protein motifs, and conserved domains were analyzed to identify differences and common features among the GmTLPs. A three-dimensional protein model was built to show the typical structure of TLPs. Analysis of publicly available gene expression data showed that GmTLP genes were differentially expressed in response to abiotic stresses. Based on those data, GmTLP8 was selected to further explore the role of TLPs in soybean drought and salt stress responses. GmTLP8 overexpressors had improved tolerance to drought and salt stresses, whereas the opposite was true of GmTLP8-RNAi lines. 3,3-diaminobenzidine and nitro blue tetrazolium staining and physiological indexes also showed that overexpression of GmTLP8 enhanced the tolerance of soybean to drought and salt stresses; in addition, downstream stress-responsive genes were upregulated in response to drought and salt stresses. This study provides new insights into the function of GmTLPs in response to abiotic stresses.

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is the third-largest source of edible vegetable oil in the world. One of the most crucial techniques to increase rapeseed oil production is to develop and utilize saline-alkali soil. Rapeseed biochemical underpinnings for tolerance to abiotic stress, particularly salt stress, are not entirely established. The tubby-like protein(TLP) gene family is a class of transcription factors originally discovered in obese mice. It plays several roles in the growth and development of plants, particularly in responseto biotic and abiotic stresses. Twenty-nine BnaTLPs members were identified in the B. napus cultivar Zhongshuang 11, which were unevenly distributed on 16 chromosomes of B. napus. Phylogenetic analysis showed that TLPproteins were separated into six groups based on protein homology in 9 plant species. Gene structure analysis showed that the majority of the BnaTLPs members have similar intron/exon and motif structures. Conserved domain analysis showed that BnaTLP8A, BnaTLP8C, and AtTLP8 lacked the N-terminal F-box protein, which may have an impact on how well they function. Collinearity analysis revealed that most BnaTLPsare the products of heterologous polyploidization and segmental duplication events. RNA-seq data showed that the majority of BnaTLPs members are expressed in significant tissues and organs at various developmental stages. Real-time qPCR results showed that BnaTLP9A, BnaTLP3C, BnaTLP2C, and BnaTLP10C.2 are upregulated in response to drought and salt stress in B. napus, while BnaTLP8A is downregulated. This study provides new insight into how TLPs react to drought and salt stresses, in addition to identifying candidate genes for abiotic stress improvement in B. napus.