Genome-wide investigation of the phospholipase C gene family in Solanum lycopersicum and abiotic stress analysis

Phospholipase C (PLC) can hydrolyze phospholipids to produce phospholipid signals and participate in plant stress response. In this study, we used the HMM method to identify PLC family members in the whole genome of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Based on the 7 known phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (SlPI-PLC) genes, 3 nonspecific phospholipase C (NPC) were newly identified. We found that SlPLCs contained a classical conserved domain and high homology with dicotyledonous Arabidopsis PLCs through the domain and evolutionary relationship of 10 genes. A variety of abiotic stress- and hormone-related elements were identified through cis-acting element analysis. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that most of the PLC members expressed differentially under abiotic stresses (low temperature, high temperature, drought, and high salt) and various developmental stages with condition/stage-specific expression and overlapping expression. The expression of SlPLC4 and SlPLC3 increased under low-temperature treatment and salt treatment. Under low temperature and salt stress, net photosynthetic rate and Fv/Fm decreased and electrical leakage increased in TRV-SlPLC4- or TRV-SlPLC3-silenced plants, indicating that PLC gene silencing can decrease abiotic stress resistance in tomato plants. Yeast Two-Hybrid experiment showed that 8 pairs of PLCs interact with each other, which may form dimer polymers within the family to perform specific functions. This study contributes to the understanding of the genome and function of SLPLCs and provides a foundation for further elucidation of the potential mechanism underlying the role of PLC in abiotic stress in tomatoes. •Identification of the whole family of tomato PLC, including PI-PLC and NPC.•Whole family analysis of tomato PLC.•Solanum PLCs are sensitive to abiotic stress.•Silencing of SlPLC3 decreased the tolerance of tomato to salt stress.•Silencing of SlPLC4 decreased the tolerance of tomato to low temperature stress.