The variegated canalized-1 tomato mutant is linked to photosystem assembly

Micha Wijesingha Ahchige, Josef Fisher, Ewelina Sokolowska, Rafe Lyall, Nicola Illing, Aleksandra Skirycz, Dani Zamir, Saleh Alseekh*, Alisdair R. Fernie

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The recently described canal-1 tomato mutant, which has a variegated leaf phenotype, has been shown to affect canalization of yield. The corresponding protein is orthologous to AtSCO2 -SNOWY COTYLEDON 2, which has suggested roles in thylakoid biogenesis. Here we characterize the canal-1 mutant through a multi-omics approach, by comparing mutant to wild-type tissues. While white canal-1 leaves are devoid of chlorophyll, green leaves of the mutant appear wild-type-like, despite an impaired protein function. Transcriptomic data suggest that green mutant leaves compensate for this impaired protein function by upregulation of transcription of photosystem assembly and photosystem component genes, thereby allowing adequate photosystem establishment, which is reflected in their wild-type-like proteome. White canal-1 leaves, however, likely fail to reach a certain threshold enabling this overcompensation, and plastids get trapped in an undeveloped state, while additionally suffering from high light stress, indicated by the overexpression of ELIP homolog genes. The metabolic profile of white and to a lesser degree also green tissues revealed upregulation of amino acid levels, that was at least partially mediated by transcriptional and proteomic upregulation. These combined changes are indicative of a stress response and suggest that white tissues behave as carbon sinks. In summary, our work demonstrates the relevance of the SCO2 protein in both photosystem assembly and as a consequence in the canalization of yield.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3967-3988
Number of pages22
JournalComputational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
Volume23
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors

Keywords

  • Canalization
  • Multi-omics
  • Photosynthesis
  • Photosystem assembly
  • Tomato
  • Variegation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The variegated canalized-1 tomato mutant is linked to photosystem assembly'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this