Genome-Wide Investigation of the Phospholipase C Gene Family in Solanum Lycopersicum and Abiotic Stress Analysis

Phospholipase C (PLC) can hydrolyze phospholipid molecules to produce phospholipid signals and participate in plant stress response. In this study, we used HMM method to identify PLC family member in the whole genome of tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum L.). Based on the known 7 Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (SlPI-PLC) genes, 3 Nonspecific Phospholipase C(NPC) were newly identified. And the 10 genes were systematically analyzed. SlPLCs have classical conserved domains and have high homology with dicotyledonous Arabidopsis PLCs. qRT-PCR showed the sensitive response of SlPLCs to different tissues and to low temperature, high temperature, salt, and drought. Y2H experiment showed that many SlPLCs can form dimers or polymers with the genes of the same family. The resistance of TRV-SlPLC4 and TRV-SlPLC3 gene-silenced plants decreased under low temperature or salt stress. This study contributes to the understanding of the genome and function of SLPLCS and provides a foundation for further understanding of the potential mechanism of how tomato PLC is involved in abiotic stress.