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Article|01 Nov 2021|OPEN
Strigolactones positively regulate abscisic acid-dependent heat and cold tolerance in tomato
Cheng Chi1 , Xuechen Xu1 , Mengqi Wang1 , Hui Zhang1 , Pingping Fang1 , Jie Zhou1 , Xiaojian Xia1 , Kai Shi1 , Yanhong Zhou1,2 , Jingquan Yu,1,2,3 ,
1Department of Horticulture, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, P.R. China
2Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Integrative Biology, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, P.R. China
3Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plants Growth, Development and Quality Improvement, Agricultural Ministry of China, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, P.R. China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: jqyu@zju.edu.cn

Horticulture Research 8,
Article number: 237 (2021)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-021-00668-y
Views: 526

Received: 14 Jan 2021
Revised: 21 Jun 2021
Accepted: 04 Jul 2021
Published online: 01 Nov 2021

Abstract

Strigolactones are carotenoid-derived phytohormones that impact plant growth and development in diverse ways. However, the roles of strigolactones in the responses to temperature stresses are largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated that strigolactone biosynthesis is induced in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) by heat and cold stresses. Compromised strigolactone biosynthesis or signaling negatively affected heat and cold tolerance, while application of the synthetic strigolactone analog GR245DS enhanced heat and cold tolerance. Strigolactone-mediated heat and cold tolerance was associated with the induction of abscisic acid (ABA), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) accumulation, C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR 1 (CBF1) transcription, and antioxidant enzyme activity. Importantly, a deficiency in ABA biosynthesis compromised the GR245DS effects on heat and cold stresses and abolished the GR245DS-induced transcription of HSP70CBF1, and antioxidant-related genes. These results support that strigolactones positively regulate tomato heat and cold tolerance and that they do so at least partially by the induction of CBFs and HSPs and the antioxidant response in an ABA-dependent manner.