title: The tomato DWD motif-containing protein DDI1 interacts with the CUL4-DDB1-based ubiquitin ligase and plays a pivotal role in abiotic stress responses.
abstract: CULLIN4(CUL4)-DAMAGED DNA BINDING PROTEIN1 (DDB1)-based ubiquitin ligase plays significant roles in multiple physiological processes via ubiquitination-mediated degradation of relevant target proteins. The DDB1-CUL4-associated factor (DCAF) acts as substrate receptor in the CUL4-DDB1 ubiquitin ligase complex and determines substrate specificity. In this study, we identified a tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) DDB1-interacting (DDI1) protein as a DCAF protein involved in response to abiotic stresses, including UV radiation, high salinity and osmotic stress. Co-immunoprecipitation and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay indicated that DDI1 associates with CUL4-DDB1 in the nucleus. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis indicated the DDI1 gene is induced by salt, mannitol and UV-C treatment. Moreover, transgenic tomato plants with overexpression or knockdown of the DDI1 gene exhibited enhanced or attenuated tolerance to salt/mannitol/UV-C, respectively. Thus, our data suggest that DDI1 functions as a substrate receptor of the CUL4-DDB1 ubiquitin ligase, positively regulating abiotic stress response in tomato.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment, College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China; School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China; Department of Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-2339, USA.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
authors.forename: Yunye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment, College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Maiju
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment, College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China; School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-2339, USA.
authors.forename: Fangming
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Bio-resource and Eco-environment, College of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China; School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China. Electronic address: liuyongsheng1122@hfut.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yongsheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000737:chemistry*; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000378:metabolism*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases
keywords: Abiotic stress; CUL4–DDB1; DCAF protein; DDI1; Tomato