The Citrus Laccase Gene CsLAC18 Contributes to Cold Tolerance

Plant laccases, as multicopper oxidases, play an important role in monolignol polymerization, and participate in the resistance response of plants to multiple biotic/abiotic stresses. However, little is currently known about the role of laccases in the cold stress response of plants. In this study, the laccase activity and lignin content of C. sinensis leaves increased after the low-temperature treatment, and cold treatment induced the differential regulation of 21 CsLACs, with 15 genes being upregulated and 6 genes being downregulated. Exceptionally, the relative expression level of CsLAC18 increased 130.17-fold after a 48-h treatment. The full-length coding sequence of CsLAC18 consists of 1743 nucleotides and encodes a protein of 580 amino acids, and is predominantly expressed in leaves and fruits. CsLAC18 was phylogenetically related to AtLAC17, and was localized in the cell membrane. Overexpression of CsLAC18 conferred enhanced cold tolerance on transgenic tobacco; however, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS)-mediated suppression of CsLAC18 in Poncirus trifoliata significantly impaired resistance to cold stress. As a whole, our findings revealed that CsLAC18 positively regulates a plant’s response to cold stress, providing a potential target for molecular breeding or gene editing.