Manipulation of SlMXl for enhanced carotenoids accumulation and drought resistance in tomato
Abstract
Plants are the ultimate source of nutrients in the human diet. To ensure adequate availability of high quality food for an increasing world population, traits including improved tolerance of stresses and nutrient levels need to be selected in crops, both individually and in combination. Here we report the identification of <i>SlMX1</i> encoding a MIXTA-like MYB transcription factor in tomato that simultaneously modulates drought resistance and metabolic processes through regulating key structural and regulatory genes of the corresponding pathways. Over-expression of <i>SlMX1</i> results in substantially increased drought tolerance and improved fruit quality, while knocking down <i>SlMX1</i> resulted in the opposite phenotypes. Our study indicates an effective way with multiple beneficial traits by genetic engineering of a single regulatory gene and can be a novel approach to breeding crops.
