CAF — Solanum lycopersicum

Summary

SOLYC07G005030.4 (CAF/DCL4) on tomato chromosome 7 encodes a Dicer-like protein with RNase III, PAZ, dsRNA-binding, and DEAD/DEAH-box helicase domains, and exhibits ribonuclease III, helicase, DNA glycosylase, and RNA methyltransferase activities. In tomato, DCL4 is associated with virus resistance. The gene is associated with activation of RNAi, LsiRNA processing, pre-miRNA processing, gene silencing by miRNA-mediated mRNA cleavage, and regulation of adaxial/abaxial pattern formation, seed maturation, and cell fate specification. Associations include adult leaf, floral organ, and leaf margin morphology traits, vegetative vigor, peduncle length, glucose, sucrose, and starch content, viral disease response, parasitic weed response, herbicide sensitivity, and osmotic stress response. DCL4 is also linked to jasmonic acid-isoleucine accumulation, herbivore resistance, resistance to Fusarium brachygibbosum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, antiviral defense, systemic RNA interference, and anthocyanin accumulation.