StHY5 promotes the synthesis of SGAs during tuber greening induced by light in potato

Abstract

Abstract Turning green due to light exposure during storage or shelfs sales poses a significant challenge on food safety issues, because of large quantities accumulation of SGAs, a set of toxic secondary metabolite, in tuber. HY5 is well known as a regulator transmit light signal in plants, but its role in tuber turning green was barely elucidated. In this study, we performed bioinformatics analysis, subcellular localization, and gene expression analysis of the StHY5 gene to clarify its function in tuber turning green after light exposure. The results showed that the StHY5 gene was expressed in both the peel and flesh of tuber but with different expression patterns. Under greening treatment, the expression of the StHY5 gene was upregulated in the flesh, showing the same pattern of change in SGAs content during greening. Further analysis indicated that StHY5 could directly up-regulate the expression of StSGT1/GAME1 and GAME4 during tuber greening induced by light. These results showed that StHY5 might play an important role in SGAs accumulation during tuber turning green and provided a foundation for further research on the function of the StHY5 gene in potato.