SlVQ15 interacts with jasmonate-ZIM domain proteins and SlWRKY31 to regulate defense response in tomato

Botrytis cinerea is one of the most widely distributed and harmful pathogens worldwide. Both the phytohormone jasmonate (JA) and the VQ motif-containing proteins play crucial roles in plant resistance to B. cinerea. However, their crosstalk in resistance to B. cinerea is unclear, especially in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). In this study, we found that the tomato VQ15 was highly induced upon B. cinerea infection and localized in the nucleus. Silencing SlVQ15 using virus-induced gene silencing reduced resistance to B. cinerea. Overexpression of SlVQ15 enhanced resistance to B. cinerea, while disruption of SlVQ15 using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein9 (Cas9) technology increased susceptibility to B. cinerea. Furthermore, SlVQ15 formed homodimers. Additionally, SlVQ15 interacted with JA-ZIM domain proteins, repressors of the JA signaling pathway, and SlWRKY31. SlJAZ11 interfered with the interaction between SlVQ15 and SlWRKY31 and repressed the SlVQ15-increased transcriptional activation activity of SlWRKY31. SlVQ15 and SlWRKY31 synergistically regulated tomato resistance to B. cinerea, as silencing SlVQ15 enhanced the sensitivity of slwrky31 to B. cinerea. Taken together, our findings showed that the SlJAZ-interacting protein SlVQ15 physically interacts with SlWRKY31 to cooperatively control JA-mediated plant defense against B. cinerea.