Analysis of the Tomato mTERF Gene Family and Study of the Stress Resistance Function of SLmTERF-13

Mitochondrial transcription termination factor (mTERF) is a DNA-binding protein that is encoded by nuclear genes, ultimately functions in mitochondria and can affect gene expression. By combining with mitochondrial nucleic acids, mTERF regulates the replication, transcription and translation of mitochondrial genes and plays an important role in the response of plants to abiotic stress. However, there are few studies on mTERF genes in tomato, which limits the in-depth study and utilization of mTERF family genes in tomato stress resistance regulation. In this study, a total of 28 mTERF gene family members were obtained through genome-wide mining and identification of the tomato mTERF gene family. Bioinformatics analysis showed that all members of the family contained environmental stress or hormone response elements. Gene expression pattern analysis showed that the selected genes had different responses to drought, high salt and low temperature stress. Most of the genes played key roles under drought and salt stress, and the response patterns were more similar. The VIGS method was used to silence the SLmTERF13 gene, which was significantly upregulated under drought and salt stress, and it was found that the resistance ability of silenced plants was decreased under both kinds of stress, indicating that the SLmTERF13 gene was involved in the regulation of the tomato abiotic stress response. These results provide important insights for further evolutionary studies and contribute to a better understanding of the role of the mTERF genes in tomato growth and development and abiotic stress response, which will ultimately play a role in future studies of tomato gene function.