Cold-regulated gene LeCOR413PM2 confers cold stress tolerance in tomato plants

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is an important food plant that has been used as a model plant in genetic evolution and molecular biology research. The plant is originated from the tropics; thus, it is sensitive to cold. Its growth and development can be easily affected by cold stress. In this study, cold-regulated gene LeCOR413PM2 was cloned from tomato leaves and then used to generate two types of transgenic tomato plants: LeCOR413PM2-overexpressing transgenic plants and RNA-interference-expressing transgenic plants. The functions and expression of LeCOR413PM2 gene in response to cold stress were subsequently assessed. The results showed that LeCOR413PM2 localized in the plasma membrane. Expression of LeCOR413PM2 gene in the leaf of transgenic tomato plant was highest compared to that in other organs (i.e., root, stem, flower and fruit); it was elevated when plants were treated with cold stress. Overexpression of LeCOR413PM2 gene was found to not only reduce damage to cell membrane, accumulation of ROS, and photoinhibition of PSII, but also maintain high activity of antioxidant enzymes and content of osmotic regulators. The results also reveal that high activities of antioxidant enzymes were caused by the up-regulation of their gene expressions. This study demonstrates that the overexpression of LeCOR413PM2 could increase cold tolerance of transgenic tomato plants, while the suppressed expression of LeCOR413PM2 by RNA interference could increase the sensitivity of plants to cold.