# A novel AP2/ERF transcription factor, NtERF10, positively regulates plant height in tobacco

## TL;DR

This study identifies a gene, NtERF10, that helps control plant height in tobacco by influencing gene expression and metabolic pathways.

## Contribution

The study reveals NtERF10's novel role in positively regulating tobacco plant height through gene and metabolite interactions.

## Key findings

- NtERF10 affects plant height by regulating genes involved in photosynthesis and hormone signaling.
- Transcriptome and metabolome analyses identified 2051 upregulated and 1965 downregulated genes in mutants.
- Transcription factors like bHLH, NAC, MYB, and WRKY also play key roles in plant height regulation.

## Abstract

Ethylene response factors have been shown to be involved in the effects of plant developmental processes and to regulate stress tolerance. The aim of this study was to recognize the regulatory mechanisms of ethylene response factors on tobacco plant height. In this study, a gene-edited mutant (ERF10-KO) and wild type (WT) were utilized as experimental materials. Transcriptome and metabolome analyses were used to investigate the regulatory mechanism of NtERF10 gene editing on plant height in tobacco. Here, through the analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 2051 genes were upregulated and 1965 genes were downregulated. We characterized the different ERF10-KO and WT plant heights and identified key genes for photosynthesis, the plant hormone signal transduction pathway and the terpene biosynthesis pathway. NtERF10 was found to affect the growth and development of tobacco by regulating the expression levels of the PSAA, PSBA, GLY17 and GGP3 genes. Amino acid metabolism was analyzed by combining analyses of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs). In addition, we found that members of the bHLH, NAC, MYB, and WRKY transcription factor families have vital roles in regulating plant height. This study not only provides important insights into the positive regulation of the ethylene response factor NtERF10 on plant height during plant growth and development but also provides new research ideas for tobacco molecular breeding.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11248-024-00383-z.