The phytochrome-interacting factor CsPIF3a positively regulates chlorophyll biosynthesis in tea plants (Camellia
Xiangna Zhang1, Jiewen Tong2, Beibei Wen3
1Xinyang Agriculture and Forestry University, Henan Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Comprehensive Utilization in South Henan, Xinyang, Henan, 464000, China; Key Laboratory of Tea Science of Ministry of Education, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, 410128, China; Yuelushan Laboratory, Changsha, Hunan, 410128, China.
Abstract:
Chlorophyll corresponds to the green pigments in leaves and forms the color of leaves together with carotenoids, which also plays a crucial role in growth and yield in tea plants. Although genes involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis have been widely reported, the regulatory mechanism of transcription factors on chlorophyll biosynthesis remains to be further elucidated in tea plants. Here, we found chlorophyll content was strongly correlated with the expression of chlorophyll biosynthetic genes CsHEMA and CsPOR in tea leaves with different leaf colors. Additionally, a phytochrome-interacting factor CsPIF3a was identified, and its expression was positively correlated with chlorophyll content and the expression of CsHEMA and CsPOR. CsPIF3a is a nuclear-localized protein with self-activating transcriptional property. Furthermore, the electrophoretic mobility shift assay illustrated that CsPIF3a directly binds to the promoters of CsHEMA and CsPOR to activate their transcription. A dual-luciferase assay confirmed that CsPIF3a could activate the expression of CsHEMA and CsPOR. Overexpression of CsPIF3a in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in a significant increase in chlorophyll accumulation and the expression of biosynthesis-related genes. Collectively, our study demonstrates that CsPIF3a acts as a transcriptional activator to regulate chlorophyll biosynthesis in tea plants. These findings provide novel insights into the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of PIFs associated with chlorophyll biosynthesis, which might be helpful to breed leaf color-specific tea cultivars.
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