SlWRKY55 coordinately acts with SlVQ11 to enhance tomato thermotolerance by activating SlHsfA2.

High temperature (HT) severely restricts plant growth, development, and productivity. Plants have evolved a set of mechanisms to cope with HT, including the regulation of heat stress transcription factors (Hsfs) and heat shock proteins (Hsps). However, it is not clear how the transcriptional and translational levels of Hsfs and Hsps are controlled in tomato. Here, we reported that the HT-induced transcription factor SlWRKY55 recruited SlVQ11 to coordinately regulate defense against HT. SlWRKY55 directly bound to the promoter of SlHsfA2 and promoted its expression, which was increased by SlVQ11. Moreover, both SlWRKY55 and SlVQ11 physically interacted with SlHsfA2 to enhance the transcriptional activity of SlHsfA2. Thus, our results revealed a molecular mechanism that the SlWRKY55/SlVQ11-SlHsfA2 cascade enhanced thermotolerance and provided potential target genes for improving the adaptability of crops to HT.

SlVQ15 recruits SlWRKY30IIc to link with jasmonate pathway in regulating tomato defence against root-knot nematodes.

Tomato is one of the most economically important vegetable crops in the world and has been seriously affected by the devastating agricultural pest root-knot nematodes (RKNs). Current understanding of tomato resistance to RKNs is quite limited. VQ motif-containing family proteins are plant-specific regulators; however, whether and how tomato VQs regulate resistance to RKNs is unknown. Here, we found that SlVQ15 recruited SlWRKY30IIc to coordinately control tomato defence against the RKN Meloidogyne incognita without affecting plant growth and productivity. The jasmonate (JA)-ZIM domain (JAZ) repressors of the phytohormone JAs signalling associated and interfered with the interaction of SlVQ15 and SlWRKY30IIc. In turn, SlWRKY30IIc bound to SlJAZs promoters and cooperated with SlVQ15 to repress their expression, whereas this inhibitory effect was antagonized by SlJAZ5, forming a feedback regulatory mechanism. Moreover, SlWRKY30IIc expression was directly regulated by SlMYC2, a SlJAZ-interacting negative regulator of resistance to RKNs. In conclusion, our findings revealed that a regulatory circuit of SlVQ15-SlWRKY30IIc and the JA pathway fine-tunes tomato defence against the RKN M. incognita, and provided candidate genes and clues with great potential for crop improvement.

SlVQ15 interacts with jasmonate-ZIM domain proteins and SlWRKY31 to regulate defense response in tomato.

Botrytis cinerea is one of the most widely distributed and harmful pathogens worldwide. Both the phytohormone jasmonate (JA) and the VQ motif-containing proteins play crucial roles in plant resistance to B. cinerea. However, their crosstalk in resistance to B. cinerea is unclear, especially in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). In this study, we found that the tomato VQ15 was highly induced upon B. cinerea infection and localized in the nucleus. Silencing SlVQ15 using virus-induced gene silencing reduced resistance to B. cinerea. Overexpression of SlVQ15 enhanced resistance to B. cinerea, while disruption of SlVQ15 using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein9 (Cas9) technology increased susceptibility to B. cinerea. Furthermore, SlVQ15 formed homodimers. Additionally, SlVQ15 interacted with JA-ZIM domain proteins, repressors of the JA signaling pathway, and SlWRKY31. SlJAZ11 interfered with the interaction between SlVQ15 and SlWRKY31 and repressed the SlVQ15-increased transcriptional activation activity of SlWRKY31. SlVQ15 and SlWRKY31 synergistically regulated tomato resistance to B. cinerea, as silencing SlVQ15 enhanced the sensitivity of slwrky31 to B. cinerea. Taken together, our findings showed that the SlJAZ-interacting protein SlVQ15 physically interacts with SlWRKY31 to cooperatively control JA-mediated plant defense against B. cinerea.

Rapid Amorphization in MOF/Metal Selenite Nanocomposites for Enhanced Capacity in Supercapacitors.

MOF/inorganic nanocomposites combine the advantages of each component. Herein, two MOF/metal selenite nanocomposites, Co-NH2-BDC/CoSeO3·H2O and Co-BDC/CoSeO3·H2O, are prepared on nickel foam through a facile two-step hydrothermal method, which inherit the 2D morphology and porosity properties of their MOF precursors. Furthermore, during the electrochemical activation process, the crystallized nanocomposites can easily transform into amorphous structures in a short time of 20 min in the presence of an electric field, similar to CoSeO3·H2O. Due to amorphization, the electrochemical performance of the two nanocomposites is much enhanced relative to that of their MOF precursors. Specifically, the areal capacitances of Co-NH2-BDC/CoSeO3·H2O and Co-BDC/CoSeO3·H2O are 5.35 and 10.65 F·cm-2 at 2 mA·cm-2, respectively. The assembled asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) using Co-NH2-BDC/CoSeO3·H2O as positive electrodes delivers an energy density of 0.207 mWh·cm-2 at a power density of 0.799 mW·cm-2 with outstanding cycling stability (93% capacity retention after 5000 cycles). Using Co-BDC/CoSeO3·H2O as positive electrodes, the ASC can reach a high energy density of 0.483 mWh·cm-2 at a power density of 0.741 mW·cm-2 and 84% capacity retention after 5000 cycles. This work provides an efficient strategy for constructing MOF/metal selenite nanocomposites for energy storage and conversion.

The SlWRKY57-SlVQ21/SlVQ16 module regulates salt stress in tomato.

Salt stress is a major abiotic stress which severely hinders crop production. However, the regulatory network controlling tomato resistance to salt remains unclear. Here, we found that the tomato WRKY transcription factor WRKY57 acted as a negative regulator in salt stress response by directly attenuating the transcription of salt-responsive genes (SlRD29B and SlDREB2) and an ion homeostasis gene (SlSOS1). We further identified two VQ-motif containing proteins SlVQ16 and SlVQ21 as SlWRKY57-interacting proteins. SlVQ16 positively, while SlVQ21 negatively modulated tomato resistance to salt stress. SlVQ16 and SlVQ21 competitively interacted with SlWRKY57 and antagonistically regulated the transcriptional repression activity of SlWRKY57. Additionally, the SlWRKY57-SlVQ21/SlVQ16 module was involved in the pathway of phytohormone jasmonates (JAs) by interacting with JA repressors JA-ZIM domain (JAZ) proteins. These results provide new insights into how the SlWRKY57-SlVQ21/SlVQ16 module finely tunes tomato salt tolerance.

Assembly of Metal-Organic Frameworks on Transition Metal Phosphides as Self-Supported Electrodes for High-Performance Hybrid Supercapacitors.

In this work, the composite electrode composed of metal-organic frameworks and transition metal phosphides is first assembled on the nickel foam substrate. The as-prepared NiCo-MOF-74@Ni12P5/NF exhibits excellent performances with ultrahigh specific capacitance (12.8 F/cm2 at 1 mA/cm2), stable charge-discharge rate (82.8%), and excellent cycling stability (reserve 73.90% after 5000 charge and discharge cycles at 30 mA/cm2), which are better than those of NiCo-MOF-74@NF without phosphating treatment of nickel foam. The corresponding hybrid supercapacitor (SC) device (NiCo-MOF-74@Ni12P5/NF//AC) delivers high storage capability (44.33 W·h/kg at 800 W/kg) and distinguished operating durability (83.04% after 5000 cycles). In addition, an all-solid-state hybrid SC successfully lit the LED for more than 2 min, which means that there is viable potential for practical applications in energy storage. The improved electrical properties are mainly due to the 3D heterostructure, the positive cooperative binding of nickel and cobalt elements, and the excellent electrical conductivity of the phosphide. As a result, this study proves the possibility of practical applications of NiCo-MOF-74@Ni12P5/NF electrodes for energy storage in hybrid SCs.

SlWRKY45 interacts with jasmonate-ZIM domain proteins to negatively regulate defense against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita in tomato.

Parasitic root-knot nematodes (RKNs) cause a severe reduction in crop yield and seriously threaten agricultural production. The phytohormones jasmonates (JAs) are important signals regulating resistance to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the molecular mechanism for JAs-regulated defense against RKNs in tomato remains largely unclear. In this study, we found that the transcription factor SlWRKY45 interacted with most JA-ZIM domain family proteins (JAZs), key repressors of the JA signaling. After infection by the RKN Meloidogyne incognita, the slwrky45 mutants exhibited lower gall numbers and egg numbers per gram of roots than wild type, whereas overexpression of SlWRKY45 attenuated resistance to Meloidogyne incognita. Under M. incognita infection, the contents of jasmonic acid (JA) and JA-isoleucine (JA-Ile) in roots were repressed by SlWRKY45-overexpression. Furthermore, SlWRKY45 bound to and inhibited the promoter of the JA biosynthesis gene ALLENE OXIDE CYCLASE (AOC), and repressed its expression. Overall, our findings revealed that the SlJAZ-interaction protein SlWRKY45 attenuated RKN-regulated JA biosynthesis and repressed defense against the RKN M. incognita in tomato.