Enhanced reproductive thermotolerance is associated with increased accumulation of flavonols in pollen of the tomato high-pigment 2 mutant
biorxiv(2021)
摘要
Climate change has created an environment where heat stress conditions are becoming more frequent as temperatures continue to rise in crop production areas around the world. This situation leads to decreased crop production due to plant sensitivity to heat stress. Reproductive success is critically dependent on plants’ ability to produce functional pollen grains, which are the most thermo-sensitive tissue. Flavonols are plant secondary metabolites known for their potent antioxidative activity, essential for male fertility in several species including tomato, and implicated in heat stress tolerance. Since flavonols are highly abundant in fruits of the tomato high pigment-2 ( hp2 ) mutant, we tested the level of flavonols in pollen of this mutant, under the hypothesis that increased accumulation of flavonols would render pollen more tolerant to heat stress. Indeed, pollen from three alleles of the hp2 mutant were found to have flavonols levels increased by 40% on average compared with wild-type under moderate chronic heat stress conditions. This mutant produced on average 7.8-fold higher levels of viable pollen and displayed better germination competence under heat stress conditions. The percentage of fully seeded fruits and the number of seeds per fruit were maintained in the mutant under heat stress conditions while decreased in wild-type plants. Our results strongly suggest that increased pollen flavonols content enhances pollen thermotolerance and reproductive success under heat stress conditions. Thus, the high flavonols trait may help frame the model for improving crop resilience to heat stress.
### Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
* MCHS
: Moderate Chronic Heat Stress
WT
: Wild-type
hp
: high-pigment
MM
: Moneymaker
MP
: Manapal
MT
: MicroTom
CHS
: chalcone synthase
CHI
: chalcone isomerase
ROS
: reactive oxygen species
H2DCFDA
: 2’,7’-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate
DCF
: dichlorofluorescein
DPBA
: diphenylboric acid-2-aminoethyl ester
MFI
: Mean Fluorescent Intensity
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