JRE4 is a master transcriptional regulator of defense-related steroidal glycoalkaloids in tomato.

Steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are specialized anti-nutritional metabolites that accumulate in Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) and Solanum tuberosum (potato). A series of SGA biosynthetic genes is known to be upregulated in Solanaceae species by jasmonate-responsive Ethylene Response Factor transcription factors, including JRE4 (otherwise known as GAME9), but the exact regulatory significance in planta of each factor has remained unaddressed. Here, via TILLING-based screening of an EMS-mutagenized tomato population, we isolated a JRE4 loss-of-function line that carries an amino acid residue missense change in a region of the protein important for DNA binding.

TOMATOMA Update: Phenotypic and Metabolite Information in the Micro-Tom Mutant Resource.

TOMATOMA (http://tomatoma.nbrp.jp/) is a tomato mutant database providing visible phenotypic data of tomato mutant lines generated by ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS) treatment or γ-ray irradiation in the genetic background of Micro-Tom, a small and rapidly growing variety.

Micro-Tom Tomato as an Alternative Plant Model System: Mutant Collection and Efficient Transformation.

Tomato is a model plant for fruit development, a unique feature that classical model plants such as Arabidopsis and rice do not have. The tomato genome was sequenced in 2012 and tomato is becoming very popular as an alternative system for plant research. Among many varieties of tomato, Micro-Tom has been recognized as a model cultivar for tomato research because it shares some key advantages with Arabidopsis including its small size, short life cycle, and capacity to grow under fluorescent lights at a high density.

MIXTA-like transcription factors and WAX INDUCER1/SHINE1 coordinately regulate cuticle development in Arabidopsis and Torenia fournieri.

The waxy plant cuticle protects cells from dehydration, repels pathogen attack, and prevents organ fusion during development. The transcription factor WAX INDUCER1/SHINE1 (WIN1/SHN1) regulates the biosynthesis of waxy substances in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we show that the MIXTA-like MYB transcription factors MYB106 and MYB16, which regulate epidermal cell morphology, also regulate cuticle development coordinately with WIN1/SHN1 in Arabidopsis and Torenia fournieri.

Mutation in Torenia fournieri Lind. UFO homolog confers loss of TfLFY interaction and results in a petal to sepal transformation.

We identified a Torenia fournieri Lind. mutant (no. 252) that exhibited a sepaloid phenotype in which the second whorls were changed to sepal-like organs.

Overexpression of Arabidopsis miR157b induces bushy architecture and delayed phase transition in Torenia fournieri.

miR156/157 is a small RNA molecule that is highly conserved among various plant species. Overexpression of miR156/157 has been reported to induce bushy architecture and delayed phase transition in several plant species. To investigate the effect of miR157 overexpression in a horticultural plant, and to explore the applicability of miRNA to molecular breeding, we introduced Arabidopsis MIR157b (AtMIR157b) into torenia (Torenia fournieri).

Functional divergence within class B MADS-box genes TfGLO and TfDEF in Torenia fournieri Lind.

Homeotic class B genes GLOBOSA (GLO)/PISTILLATA (PI) and DEFICIENS (DEF)/APETALA3 (AP3) are involved in the development of petals and stamens in Arabidopsis. However, functions of these genes in the development of floral organs in torenia are less well known. Here, we demonstrate the unique floral phenotypes of transgenic torenia formed due to the modification of class B genes, TfGLO and TfDEF.

Arabidopsis SBP-box genes SPL10, SPL11 and SPL2 control morphological change in association with shoot maturation in the reproductive phase.

Lateral organ traits in higher plants, such as lamina shape and trichome distribution, change gradually in association with shoot maturation. Regulation of this shoot maturation process in the vegetative phase has been extensively investigated, and members of the SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN (SBP)-box family of transcription factors have been shown to be involved in this process. However, little is known about the regulation of shoot maturation in the reproductive phase.

Characterization of Arabidopsis ZIM, a member of a novel plant-specific GATA factor gene family.

The Arabidopsis gene ZIM encodes a putative transcription factor containing a novel GATA-type zinc-finger domain with a longer spacer between its two sets of conserved cysteine residues (C-X2-C-X20-C-X2-C). In Arabidopsis, ZIM and homologous proteins, ZML1 and ZML2, were identified as GATA factors containing the C-X2-C-X20-C-X2-C motif, a CCT domain, and an uncharacterized conserved domain. Proteins that possess this domain structure were found exclusively in plants, indicating that they belong to a novel family of plant-specific GATA-type transcription factors.

Arabidopsis ZIM, a plant-specific GATA factor, can function as a transcriptional activator.

Arabidopsis ZIM is a putative transcription factor containing an atypical GATA-type zinc-finger motif. Transcriptional activation by ZIM was tested using a transient GAL4 fusion assay and measuring the expression of a luciferase reporter in tobacco BY-2 cells. ZIM functioned as a transcriptional activator, and the transactivation domain was found to occur in its N-terminal acidic region.