Jiang Yiqi, Khan Noor Muhammad, Ali Akhtar, Zhou Guangzhen, Zhou Yue, Li Panjing, Wan Yinglang
Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresources, School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.
The Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Mar 30;26(7):3216. doi: 10.3390/ijms26073216.
High-salinity stress induces severe oxidative damage in plants, leading to growth inhibition through cellular redox imbalance. Chalcone synthase (CHS), a pivotal enzyme in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, plays critical roles in plant stress adaptation. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying CHS-mediated salt tolerance remain uncharacterized in L., a tropical crop of high economic and ecological significance. Here, we systematically identified the gene family in and revealed tissue-specific and salt-stress-responsive expression patterns, with exhibiting the most pronounced induction under salinity. Transgenic overexpressing displayed enhanced salt tolerance compared to wild-type plants, characterized by elevated activities of antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD), increased flavonoid accumulation, and reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Furthermore, we identified the transcription factor as a direct activator of through binding to its promoter. Our findings demonstrate that the regulatory module enhances salt tolerance by orchestrating flavonoid biosynthesis and ROS scavenging. This study provides functional evidence of CHS-mediated salt adaptation in and highlights its potential for improving stress resilience in tropical crops.
高盐胁迫会在植物中引发严重的氧化损伤，通过细胞氧化还原失衡导致生长抑制。查尔酮合酶（CHS）是类黄酮生物合成途径中的关键酶，在植物逆境适应中发挥着关键作用。然而，在具有高度经济和生态意义的热带作物番木瓜中，CHS介导的耐盐性的分子机制仍不清楚。在这里，我们系统地鉴定了番木瓜中的CHS基因家族，并揭示了其组织特异性和盐胁迫响应表达模式，其中CpCHS1在盐胁迫下表现出最显著的诱导。与野生型植物相比，过表达CpCHS1的转基因番木瓜表现出增强的耐盐性，其特征是抗氧化酶超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）和过氧化物酶（POD）的活性升高，类黄酮积累增加，活性氧（ROS）积累减少。此外，我们鉴定出转录因子CpWRKY40通过结合其启动子作为CpCHS1的直接激活因子。我们的研究结果表明，CpWRKY40-CpCHS1调控模块通过协调类黄酮生物合成和ROS清除来增强耐盐性。本研究提供了番木瓜中CHS介导的盐适应的功能证据，并突出了其在提高热带作物抗逆性方面的潜力。
