LEA — Solanum lycopersicum

Summary

SlLEA (SOLYC02G084840.3) on tomato chromosome 2 encodes a dehydrin family protein with a dehydrin conserved domain and exhibits phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidate, phosphoinositide, and lipid binding activities, along with metal binding. This gene is associated with acquisition of desiccation tolerance in seed, cellular response to desiccation and salt, raffinose and proline metabolism, and cytokinin transport. It has been linked to traits including raffinose content, leaf water potential, fruit weight, plant height, root length, chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, quantum yield, and stomatal resistance, as well as phenotypes such as freezing and cold tolerance, drought and salt stress tolerance, osmotic stress tolerance, membrane stability, and abscisic acid response. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to drought stress resistance, ABA sensitivity, and hydrogen peroxide accumulation.