Overexpression of affects floral organ and pollen development.

The gene was initially identified in tomato and serves as a key regulator of fruit shape. There are 31 OFP members in the tomato genome. However, their roles in tomato growth and reproductive development are largely unknown. Here, we cloned the transcription factor . Tomato plants overexpressing displayed several phenotypic defects, including an altered floral architecture and fruit shape and reduced male fertility. overexpression altered the expression levels of some brassinosteroid (BR)-associated genes, implying that SlOFP20 may play a negative role in the BR response, similar to its ortholog OsOFP19 in rice. Moreover, the transcript accumulation of gibberellin (GA)-related genes was significantly affected in the transgenic lines. SlOFP20 may play an important role in the crosstalk between BR and GA. The pollen germination assay suggested that the pollen germination rate of -OE plants was distinctly lower than that of WT plants. In addition, the tomato pollen-associated genes , , , , and were all suppressed in the transgenic lines. Our data imply that may affect floral organ and pollen development by modulating BR and GA signaling in tomato.