Prunus persica transcription factor PpNAC56 enhances heat resistance in transgenic tomatoes.

Members of the NAC (NAM, ATAF1,2 and CUC2) transcription factor family are involved in numerous processes of plant growth and development and play an important role in the response to abiotic stresses such as salinity, drought and heat, but little research on this topic has been done in peach. In this study, we analyzed the expression patterns of PpNAC56 under abiotic stress and found that PpNAC56 responded to high-temperature stress. To verify the function of PpNAC56, we overexpressed this gene in tomato plants and found that, compared with WT plants, the transgenic tomato plants could accumulate more osmoregulatory substances after high-temperature treatment and thus were more heat resistance. Then, using Y2H, BIFC, and pull-down assays, we found that PpNAC56 could interact with PpMIEL1. In addition, Y1H and dual-luciferase assays verified that PpNAC56 could activate the expression of PpHSP17.4 and PpSnRK2D. The above experimental results demonstrate that PpNAC56 plays an important role in the plant response to heat stress.