Hair interacts with SlZFP8-like to regulate the initiation and elongation of trichomes by modulating SlZFP6 expression in tomato

Abstract

Trichomes are specialized glandular or non-glandular structures that provide physical or chemical protection against insect and pathogens attack. Trichomes in Arabidopsis, as typical non-glandular structures, have been extensively studied. However, the molecular mechanism underlying glandular trichome formation and elongation still remains largely unknown. We previously demonstrated that Hair (H) is essential for the formation of type I and type VI trichomes. Here, we found that overexpression of H increased the density and length of tomato trichomes. We revealed that H physically interacts with its close homolog SlZFP8-like (SlZFP8L) and SlZFP8L also directly interacts with Woolly (Wo) by biochemical assays. SlZFP8L overexpression plants showed increased trichome density and length. We further found that the expression of SlZFP6, encoding a C2H2 zinc finger protein, is positively regulated by H. We identified that SlZFP6, is a direct target of H through ChIP-qPCR, Y1H, and LUC assays. Similar to H and SlZFP8L, the overexpression of SlZFP6 also increased the density and length of tomato trichomes. Taken together, our results suggest that H interacts with SlZFP8-like to regulate the initiation and elongation of trichomes by modulating SlZFP6 expression in tomato.

Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Trichome Development

“…In addition, the similar regulatory effects of H gene homologs in the formation of trichomes indicate that these multicellular structures of solanaceous plants may be controlled by conservative molecular mechanisms. Recent studies have found that SlZFP8-like ( SlZFP8L ) directly interacts with SlWo to regulate tomato trichome initiation ( Zheng et al, 2021 ). Overexpression of SlZFP8L will increase the length of type I, III, and VI trichomes and increase the density of type I, III, V, VI, and VII trichomes ( Zheng et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Recent studies have found that SlZFP8-like ( SlZFP8L ) directly interacts with SlWo to regulate tomato trichome initiation ( Zheng et al, 2021 ). Overexpression of SlZFP8L will increase the length of type I, III, and VI trichomes and increase the density of type I, III, V, VI, and VII trichomes ( Zheng et al, 2021 ). Researchers also found that H interacts with SlZFP8-like ( SlZFP8L ) to regulate trichome initiation and elongation by regulating SlZFP6 expression in tomato ( Zheng et al, 2021 ).…”

C2H2 Zinc Finger Proteins Response to Abiotic Stress in Plants

“…In Arabidopsis thaliana, 176 C2H2-ZFPs have been reported, and 189, 109, 321, 118 and 47 C2H2-type ZFPs have been identified in rice (Oryza sativa), poplar (Populus trichocarpa), soybean (Glycine max), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and wheat (Triticum aestivum), respectively [10][11][12][13][14]. Function analyses showed that C2H2-ZFPs are involved in regulating multiple growth development processes and resisting biotic and abiotic stress in plants [2][3][4]15].…”

“…C2H2-ZFPs regulate the expression of stress-regulated genes and act as an important part of abiotic stresses response networks [1,2,5]. Recently, increasing studies have demonstrated that C2H2-type zinc finger proteins play important roles in abiotic stress response with a putative repression activity to abiotic stresses in plants [15,[22][23][24][25]. In this review, we summarize the important structural features of C2H2 zinc finger proteins, highlight the role of C2H2-ZFPs in plant stress response networks, and conclude the pathway of C2H2-ZFPs in response to abiotic stress.…”

Genome-Wide Analysis of C2H2 Zinc Finger Gene Family and Its Response to Cold and Drought Stress in Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]

“…In tomato, C2H2 zinc finger proteins H and Sh were found to be important transcription factors that controlled the initiation and elongation of type I and III multicellular trichomes [ 14 ]. At the same time, SlZFP6 was upregulated by protein H, which increased the density and length of tomato trichomes [ 15 ]. Apart from that, when the SUMOylation of the zinc finger transcription factor STOP1 was up-regulated, plants could enhance the resistance to aluminum stress in Arabidopsis [ 16 ].…”