Molecular Mechanisms of Tuber Development in Solanaceae
Summary
Tuber formation in the Solanaceae, most prominently exemplified by potato (Solanum tuberosum), is a complex developmental programme integrating environmental cues, hormonal signalling and carbohydrate allocation to produce an underground storage organ. In response to inductive photoperiods and moderate temperatures, leaves synthesise and transmit mobile signals—among them an FT‐like protein and phloem-mobile BEL1-like messenger RNAs—to stolon tips. There, a shift in the balance of plant growth regulators occurs: concentrations of abscisic acid and auxin rise while gibberellin levels decline, promoting meristematic cell division and expansion. Concurrently, sucrose unloading from the phloem is upregulated, driving the activation of starch biosynthetic enzymes such as ADP‐glucose pyrophosphorylase and sucrose synthase. Transcription factors from the KNOX and BEL1 classes form heterodimeric complexes that regulate key downstream genes, while non-coding RNAs and microRNAs modulate transcript stability and translation. Genetic loci underlying quantitative variation in tuber yield and size have been mapped to QTLs controlling components of this regulatory network. Together, these mechanisms orchestrate the transition from stolon elongation to tuber bulking, ensuring coordinated restructuring of cell walls, sink strength enhancement and storage metabolism, with profound implications for crop productivity and food security worldwide.
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Molecular Mechanisms of Tuber Development in Solanaceae publication trend
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Technical terms
Tuberization: The developmental transition by which an underground stem (stolon) differentiates into a storage organ.
Photoperiod: The duration of daily light exposure that influences plant developmental processes.
Phloem-mobile signal: A molecular messenger (protein, RNA or small molecule) transported through phloem tissue to coordinate distal organ development.
BEL1-like transcription factor: A member of the TALE superfamily that partners with KNOX proteins to regulate gene expression in storage-organ formation.
FT-like protein: A CONSTANS‐regulated mobile florigen homologue that induces tuber initiation rather than flowering in potato.
QTL (Quantitative Trait Locus): A genomic region statistically associated with variation in a quantitative trait such as tuber yield or size.
References
- Potato: from functional genomics to genetic improvement. Molecular Horticulture (2024).
- Tuber and Tuberous Root Development. Annual Review of Plant Biology (2021).
- The Impact of the Long-Distance Transport of a BEL1-Like Messenger RNA on Development. Plant Physiology (2012).
- Genome-wide analysis of starch metabolism genes in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). BMC Genomics (2017).
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