Silencing of a CCT domain containing protein in tomato plants leads to increased abiotic stress tolerance

RENZI DJ; ZAYAS ALDANA; SOSSI ML; ZANOR MI

Rosario

Congreso; XXXIV Argentinian Meeting of Plant Physiology; 2023

A group of genes that encode proteins with a conserved motif called CCT (for CONSTANS (CO), CONSTANS-like (CO-like), and Timing of CAB expression1 (TOC1)) participate in the regulation of flowering and circadian rhythm. Recent progress in the characterization of CCT family genes show that they regulate characters like plant growth, development, and stress tolerance. The CCT proteins include those called CMF (CCT motif factor) having a single CCT domain. Our results indicate that in tomato, there are 7 putative SlCMF genes and However, to the best of our knowledge none of these genes have been yet characterized. In this work we present the characterization of one selected CMF gene using transgenic tomato (S. lycopersicum) plants (cv. Micro-Tom). We also analyzed abiotic stress responses of the lines. Plants with reduced levels of the gene showed increased tolerance to water deprivation and oxidative stress. Although the potential functional mechanisms of the gene remain unclear, our current study results indicate that this protein has great potential in agricultural applications.