SlERF.F12 modulates flowering time and number in tomato partially via histone deacetylation-mediated transcriptional repression (PRJCA044927)
Flowering time are critical agronomic traits in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Here, we found that mutation of Ethylene Response Factor.F12 (SlERF.F12) leads to accelerated flowering and reduced inflorescence flower number, consequently decreasing yield in tomato. This phenotype is attributed to altered shoot apical meristem maturation. Further studies demonstrate that SlERF.F12 directly regulates key genes across distinct flowering pathways, including CONSTANS (CO), gibberellin 2-oxidas (GA2ox) FALSIFLORA (FA), Delayed Sympodial Termination (DST), and Cytokinin Oxidase 1 (CKX1), indicating its pivotal role in integrating multiple flowering signals. Histone modification analysis revealed an enhanced histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac) enrichment at the genomic regions of CO, FA, DST, and CKX1 in the erf.f12 mutant, whereas GA2ox showed negligible H3K9ac enrichment in both mutant and wild-type (WT) plants. Exogenous gibberellin (GA) and paclobutrazol (PAC) treatments confirmed that SlERF.F12-mediated flowering regulation partially depends on the GA signaling pathway. Collectively, this study positions SlERF.F12 within the floral development regulatory network and uncovers histone deacetylation as a key mechanism modulating the vegetative-to-reproductive transition in tomato via transcriptional repression of target genes.