Sly-miR398 Participates in Heat Stress Tolerance in Tomato by Modulating ROS Accumulation and HSP Response

Bibliographic Details
Title: Sly-miR398 Participates in Heat Stress Tolerance in Tomato by Modulating ROS Accumulation and HSP Response
Authors: Baoyu Li, Peiwen Wang, Shuaijing Zhao, Jiaqi Dong, Shengming Mao, Xuyongjie Zhu, Tiantian Yuan, Haiying Qiu, Long Cao, Yunmin Xu, Yong He, Zhujun Zhu, Guochao Yan
Source: Agronomy, Vol 15, Iss 2, p 294 (2025)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Collection: LCC:Agriculture
Subject Terms: microRNA, heat stress acclimation, antioxidant system, ROS balance, feedback loop, Agriculture
More Details: Heat stress is one of the most important environmental problems in agriculture, which severely restricts the growth and yield of plants. In plants, microRNA398 (miR398) negatively regulates the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) by modulating the expression of its coding genes (CSDs) post-transcriptionally, thereby regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis and stress resistance. In this study, the role of miR398 in heat stress tolerance in tomato was investigated. Under heat stress, the expression of miR398 was upregulated in tomato, while the expression of its target genes (CSD1 and CSD2) and SOD activity was downregulated. Furthermore, by comparing the heat stress response in wild type (WT) and a transgenic line overexpressing MIR398 (miR398-OE), the results showed that overexpression of miR398 promoted tomato growth and the expression of genes encoding heat shock factor (HSF, transcription factor) and heat shock protein (HSP) under heat stress. Meanwhile, downregulated activity of antioxidant enzymes, including SOD, catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and enhanced ROS accumulation was observed in miR398-OE compared with that in WT under heat stress. Further study using dimethylthiourea (DMTU, a ROS scavenger) indicated that the enhanced plant growth and expression of HSFs/HSPs was based on the promoted accumulation of ROS in miR398-OE. Overall, the results of this study revealed that the upregulated expression of miR398 in response to heat stress would modulate the antioxidant system and enhance ROS accumulation, thereby enhancing the expression of HSFs and HSPs and heat stress tolerance in tomato.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2073-4395
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/2/294; https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4395
DOI: 10.3390/agronomy15020294
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/6258c848d2a041b7a28b578b10d56787
Accession Number: edsdoj.6258c848d2a041b7a28b578b10d56787
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:20734395
DOI:10.3390/agronomy15020294
Published in:Agronomy
Language:English