PLATZ, a novel zinc finger DNA-binding protein, plays crucial regulatory roles in the growth and development of various plants and in the modulation of abiotic stress responses. However, knowledge of the functions of PLATZ genes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is lacking. In our study, we established stable SlPLATZ17 gene overexpression and knockout lines to further analyze the regulatory functions of SlPLATZ17 under drought and salt stress. It was found that the overexpression lines presented increased drought and salt tolerance under stress. Transcriptome sequencing and screening for interacting proteins revealed that SlPLATZ17 may exert its effects by interacting with POR1, thereby influencing glutathione metabolism and arginine and proline metabolism. In conclusion, the findings lay the groundwork for a deeper understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying the role of SlPLATZ17 in stress resistance, as well as facilitating the application of SlPLATZ17 in the breeding of stress-resistant tomato varieties.

Studies on how SlPR5 genes are involved in Pst DC3000 disease resistance response are lacking. Here, 27 members of the tomato SlPR5 gene family were identified and analyzed. Analysis of conserved structural domains and promoter structure revealed that SlPR5 family members are structurally conserved and contain a variety of antidisease and antistress response elements. We screened out SlPR5-3, which was significantly upregulated, through an analysis of the expression pattern of Pst DC3000 in tomato after inoculation. We generated SlPR5-3 mutants via CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and SlPR5-3-overexpressing tomato plants to elucidate the function of this gene. The results showed that the SlPR5-3 overexpression lines had reduced lesions, significantly lower pathogen counts, and significantly higher activity indexes of defense-related enzymes, while the mutant lines showed the opposite, indicating that the SlPR5-3 gene positively regulates the immune response against Pst DC3000 in tomato. In this study, we systematically mined and analyzed the tomato SlPR5 family genes, screened out the important genes in this family for the regulation of Pst DC3000 disease resistance, and verified the disease resistance regulatory function of SlPR5-3, laying the foundation for the theoretical study of tomato Pst DC3000 disease resistance and providing a new molecular target for the future breeding of tomato disease resistance.