Promoting γ-aminobutyric acid accumulation to enhances saline-alkali tolerance in tomato

Abstract Saline-alkali stress is a widely distributed abiotic stress that severely limits plant growth. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) accumulates rapidly in plants under saline-alkali stress, but the underlying molecular mechanisms and associated regulatory networks remain unclear. Here, we report a MYB-like protein, I-box binding factor (SlMYBI), which positively regulates saline-alkali tolerance through induced GABA accumulation by directly modulating the glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) gene SlGAD1 in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Overexpression of SlGAD1 increased GABA levels and decreased reactive oxygen species accumulation under saline-alkali stress, while silencing of SlGAD1 further suggested that SlGAD1 plays an active role in GABA synthesis and saline-alkali tolerance of tomato. In addition, we found that SlMYBI activates SlGAD1 transcription. Both overexpression of SlMYBI and editing of SlMYBI using CRISPR–Cas9 showed that SlMYBI regulates GABA synthesis by modulating SlGAD1 expression. Furthermore, the interaction of SlNF-YC1 with SlMYBI enhanced the transcriptional activity of SlMYBI on SlGAD1 to further improve saline-alkali tolerance in tomato. Interestingly, we found that ethylene signaling was involved in the GABA response to saline-alkali stress by RNA-seq analysis of SlGAD1-overexpressing lines. This study elucidates the involvement of SlMYBI in GABA synthesis regulation. Specifically, the SlMYBI–SlNF-YC1 module is involved in GABA accumulation in response to saline-alkali stress.