Enhanced drought tolerance in tomato plants with reduced expression of a gene encoding a CCT motif-containing protein

Abstract

Plants have evolved complex regulatory mechanisms to sense and respond to environmentalstresses and make adjustments in their growth and development to survive and reproduce. Thepresent study explored the CCT MOTIF PROTEIN (CMF) gene family in the Solanaceae family, withemphasis on tomato, Solanum lycopersicum. A genome-wide monitoring was performed toprovide a deeper insight into gene members, genomic localization, gene structure, and expressionprofile. Seven CMF genes were identified in tomato resulting SlCMF1 the most similar to FITNESS,a previously functionally characterized CMF gene from Arabidopsis which has a role in cellularredox homeostasis, reproductive success, and defence responses. To investigate the potentialfunction of SlCMF1, artificial micro RNA was used to reduce its expression in tomato Micro-Tomplants. The transgenic lines showed enhanced tolerance to drought stress compared to controllines as evidenced by physiological and biochemical parameters. These findings highlight thecritical role of CMF family genes in the regulation of plant responses to abiotic stress, with aparticular focus on tomato. Specifically, the SlCMF1 gene emerged as a promising candidate forconferring drought stress tolerance. This research not only advances our understanding of themolecular mechanisms underlying drought stress tolerance in tomato but also provides afoundation for developing resilient crop varieties through targeted genetic manipulation.