The tomato WRKY-B transcription factor modulates lateral branching by targeting BLIND, PIN4, and IAA15.

ABSTRACT: Lateral branching is a crucial agronomic trait that impacts crop yield. In tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ), excessive lateral branching is unfavorable and results in substantial labor and management costs. Therefore, optimizing lateral branching is a primary objective in tomato breeding. Although many genes related to lateral branching have been reported in tomato, the molecular mechanism underlying their network remains elusive. In this study, we found that the expression profile of a WRKY gene, WRKY-B (for WRKY-BRANCING), was associated with the auxin-dependent axillary bud development process. Wrky-b mutants generated by the CRISPR/Cas9 editing system presented fewer lateral branches, while WRKY-B overexpression lines presented more later

SUBMITTER: Yang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11384121 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature