Biotechnology Bulletin ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 256-265.doi: 10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2024-0794

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Cloning of Phytochrome Interaction Factor CsPIF3a and Its Response to Light and Temperature Stress in Camellia sinensis

BAN Qiu-yan1(), ZHAO Xin-yue1, CHI Wen-jing1, LI Jun-sheng1, WANG Qiong1, XIA Yao1, LIANG Li-yun1, HE Wei1, LI Ye-yun2(), ZHAO Guang-shan3()   

  1. 1.College of Horticulture, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046
    2.National Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036
    3.College of Food Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002
  • Received:2024-08-17 Online:2025-04-26 Published:2025-04-25
  • Contact: LI Ye-yun, ZHAO Guang-shan E-mail:qyban717@henau.edu.cn;lyy@ahau.edu.cn;gszhao@henau.edu.cn

Abstract:

Objective PIFs (Phytochrome interacting factors) are the core components in the photopigment-mediated photothermal signaling pathway. Studying the function of PIF3 in tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) provides important theoretical guidance for using light signaling pathways to avoid or mitigate the harm caused by adverse conditions. Method The CsPIF3a gene was cloned from tea plants through homology cloning and subsequently analyzed using bioinformatics tools. Expression patterns of CsPIF3a across various tissues and under different light and temperature conditions were assessed using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Additionally, tobacco transient expression assays and yeast two-hybrid assays were conducted to determine the protein localization and transcriptional activity of CsPIF3a. Result The open reading frame (ORF) of CsPIF3a was 2 163 bp in length, encoding a protein of 721 amino acids. The predicted molecular mass of the encoded protein was 76.97 kD. The theoretical isoelectric point was 5.70, having hydrophilic properties. The phylogenetic tree analysis showed that CsPIF3a was closely related to Actinidia eriantha Bentham. and contained a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) domain, an active phytochrome binding (APB) domain, and an APA domain. The secondary structure analysis of CsPIF3a revealed that it comprised 18.17% α-helix, 6.80% β-sheet, 1.53% β-turn, and 73.51% random coil, with 46.87% of the regions being disordered. Subcellular localization assays demonstrated that CsPIF3a was localized in the nucleus and presented transcriptional activity. Reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis indicated that CsPIF3a was predominantly expressed in the old leaves and stems of tea plants. Additionally, its expression was found to be responsive to temperature stress and correlated with light intensity. Conclusion CsPIF3a is localized in the nucleus and exhibits transcriptional activity. In response to temperature stress, the expression level of CsPIF3a gene was related to light intensity.

Key words: CsPIF3a, gene cloning, bioinformatics analysis, subcellular localization, transcriptional activity, expression analysis