Seed-Specific Gene MOTHER of FT and TFL1 (MFT) Involved in Embryogenesis, Hormones and Stress Responses in Dimocarpus longan Lour.

Mother of FT and TFL1(MFT) belongs to phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family, which plays an important role in flowering time regulation, seed development, and germination. To gain insight into the molecular function ofDlMFTinDimocarpus longanLour., we isolatedDlMFTand its promoter sequence from longan embryogenic callus (EC). Bioinformatic analysis indicated that the promoter contained multiphytohormones and light responsive regulatory elements. Subcellular localization showed that the given the DlMFT signal localized in the nucleus, expression profiling implied thatDlMFTshowed significant upregulation during somatic embryogenesis (SE) and zygotic embryogenesis (ZE), and particular highly expressed in late or maturation stages. The accumulation ofDlMFTwas mainly detected in mature fruit and seed, while it was undetected in abortive seeds, and notably decreased during seed germination.DlMFTresponded differentially to exogenous hormones in longan EC. Auxins, salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJa) suppressed its expression, however, abscisic acid (ABA), brassinosteroids (BR) showed the opposite function. Meanwhile,DlMFTdifferentially responded to various abiotic stresses. Our study revealed thatDlMFTmight be a key regulator of longan somatic and zygotic embryo development, and in seed germination, it is involved in complex plant hormones and abiotic stress signaling pathways.Keywords:mother of FT and TFL1;longan;embryogenesis;phytohormones;stress response;quantitative real-time PCR