Abstract: GATA transcription factors are widely present in eukaryotes that play a crucial role in various biological processes, including growth, development, and environmental stress response. To investigate the specific biological functions of the SlGATA1 in tomatoes, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and CRISPR/Cas9 editing technology were applied to analyze the expression pattern of the SlGATA1 and constructing the SlGATA1 knocked-out transgenic lines. The results revealed that the SlGATA1 was expressed in all tissues, with the highest expression level observed in seeds. Moreover, the expression of the gene was affected by salt stress, drought stress, heat stress, and the pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000) infection. Two dual-target CRISPR/Cas9 knockdown vectors were successfully constructed, and four stable genetic knockout plants of the SlGATA1 were obtained by using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the function of the SlGATA1 and offer new genetic materials for the improvement of tomato varieties.
Keywords: tomato(Solanum lycopersicum); SlGATA1 gene; gene editing; CRISPR/Cas9; environmental stress