SlBPC1 regulates fruit elongation by directly repressing SlOFP2/SlOFP21 and SUN expression in tomato

doi:10.1111/jipb.70409

• Research Article •

SlBPC1 regulates fruit elongation by directly repressing SlOFP2/SlOFP21 and SUN expression in tomato

Sunan Gao¹, Long Cui^{1, 2}, Licheng Xiao¹, Rong Huang¹, Jing Wei^{1, 3}, Chunrui Chen¹, Wenran Su¹, Jiajun Ran¹, Lei Song¹, Jingyi Li¹, Taotao Wang¹, Zonglie Hong⁴, Zhibiao Ye¹, Jie Ye^1* and Junhong Zhang^1*

1. National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070 China;
2. Ganzhou Key Laboratory of Greenhouse Vegetables, College of Life Sciences, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, 341000 China;
3. Quzhou Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Quzhou, 324000 China;
4. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, 83844 USA
*Correspondences: Junhong Zhang (zhangjunhng@mail.hzau.edu.cn, Dr. Zhang is fully responsible for the distribution of all materials associated with this article); Jie Ye (yejie@mail.hzau.edu.cn)

Received:2025-11-20 Accepted:2026-09-06 Online:2026-10-04
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Plant (2022YFF1003001), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32573028), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2662023PY011), and the earmarked fund for CARS (CARS-21-A13).

Abstract

Abstract: Fruit shape is an important agronomical trait that influences consumer preference. Despite the dramatic variations in fruit shape among tomato germplasms, the underlying genes and regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we found that knockout of the transcription factor SlBPC1 leads to elongated fruits, resulting from altered cell division patterns during ovary development. Further studies revealed that SlBPC1 regulates fruit shape by repressing its target genes SlOFP21 and SUN. Overexpression of SlOFP21 resulted in the formation of elongated fruits with an increased fruit shape index. Moreover, SlBPC1 also represses the expression of SlOFP2, a homolog of SlOFP21. Consistently, overexpression of SlOFP2 also led to elongated fruits in tomato. SlOFP2 and SlOFP21 were found to interact with fruit elongation activator SlTRM5 and repressors SlTRM17/20a and SlTRM19. Together, our results revealed an SlBPC1–SlOFP2/SlOFP21/SUN regulatory module that provides new insights and molecular tools for the genetic improvement of fruit shape traits in tomato breeding programs.

Key words: fruit shape, ovate family protein, SlBPC1, SUN, tomato, TONNEAU1-recruiting motif protein

Sunan Gao, Long Cui, Licheng Xiao, Rong Huang, Jing Wei, Chunrui Chen, Wenran Su, Jiajun Ran, Lei Song, Jingyi Li, Taotao Wang, Zonglie Hong, Zhibiao Ye, Jie Ye, Junhong Zhang. SlBPC1 regulates fruit elongation by directly repressing SlOFP2/SlOFP21 and SUN expression in tomato[J]. J Integr Plant Biol., DOI: 10.1111/jipb.70409.

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SlBPC1 regulates fruit elongation by directly repressing SlOFP2/SlOFP21 and SUN expression in tomato

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