LcTRB1, a telomere repeat binding protein, enhances litchi seed development under low temperature by triggering the transcription of LcASHR1

作者：Zhi-Chan Liao, Dan-Rong Xie, Alam Intikhab, Fang Qiao, Farhat Abbas, Ren‐Fang Zeng, Xu‐Ming Huang, Huicong Wang · 发表于：Plant Stress · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.stress.2025.100745 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Plant Molecular Biology Research、Silicon Effects in Agriculture、Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism

• The litchi cultivar ‘Guiwei’ presents a bigger seed in response to low temperature. • The expression of LcASHR1 and LcTRB1 is up regulated under lower temperature. • LcASHR1 and LcTRB1 are positive regulators of ‘Guiwei’ seed development. • LcTRB1 promotes seed development by modulating the expression of LcASHR1 . The seed development is a crucial step in ensuring a healthy fruit set, and the ultimate seed size is a significant quality feature in fruit crops. Litchi seed development is a fascinating process because of its remarkable plasticity. Previous study has indicated that the partial seed abortion phenotype of litchi cv. ‘Guiwei’ is induced by thermo-sensitive sterility and self-sterility. The comprehension of how genetic background and temperature influence the litchi seed development is limited. Here, we target LcASHR1 , a putative histone-lysine N-methyltransferase gene, and LcEMF2 , an EMBRYONIC FLOWER 2 gene, that were shown to be more highly expressed in the large seed cultivar ‘Huaizhi’ than in the small seed cultivar ‘Guiwei’. In addition, they were found to be enhanced in response to low temperatures, a condition flavoring the seed development of ‘Guiwei’ seeds. Among them, only the knockdown of LcASHR1 in litchi resulted in tiny seeds and a higher level of seed abortion rate. Conversely, overexpression of LcASHR1 in Arabidopsis lines led to the production of larger seeds. Furthermore, LcTRB1, a putative telomere repeats binding protein, was identified as a u...