Trichomes are specialized glandular or non-glandular structures that provide physical or chemical protection against insect and pathogen attack. Trichomes in Arabidopsis have been extensively studied as typical non-glandular structures. By contrast, the molecular mechanism underlying glandular trichome formation and elongation remains largely unknown. We previously demonstrated that Hair is essential for the formation of type I and type VI trichomes. Here, we found that overexpression of Hair increased the density and length of tomato trichomes. Biochemical assays revealed that Hair physically interacts with its close homolog SlZFP8-like (SlZFP8L), and SlZFP8L also directly interacts with Woolly. SlZFP8L-overexpressing plants showed increased trichome density and length. We further found that the expression of SlZFP6, which encodes a C2H2 zinc finger protein, is positively regulated by Hair. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, yeast one-hybrid, and dual-luciferase assays we identified that SlZFP6 is a direct target of Hair. Similar to Hair and SlZFP8L, the overexpression of SlZFP6 also increased the density and length of tomato trichomes. Taken together, our results suggest that Hair interacts with SlZFP8-like to regulate the initiation and elongation of trichomes by modulating SlZFP6 expression in tomato.

中文翻译：

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头发与 SlZFP8-like 相互作用，通过调节番茄中 SlZFP6 的表达来调节毛状体的起始和伸长

毛状体是专门的腺体或非腺体结构，可提供物理或化学保护，防止昆虫和病原体攻击。拟南芥中的毛状体已被广泛研究为典型的非腺体结构。相比之下，腺毛形成和伸长的分子机制仍然很大程度上未知。我们之前证明了头发对于 I 型和 VI 型毛状体的形成是必不可少的。在这里，我们发现 Hair 的过度表达增加了番茄毛状体的密度和长度。生化分析表明，Hair 与其密切的同源物 SlZFP8-like (SlZFP8L) 发生物理相互作用，并且 SlZFP8L 也直接与 Woolly 相互作用。SlZFP8L 过表达植物表现出增加的毛状体密度和长度。我们进一步发现，SlZFP6 的表达，编码 C2H2 锌指蛋白，受 Hair 的正向调节。使用染色质免疫沉淀、酵母单杂交和双荧光素酶测定，我们确定 SlZFP6 是头发的直接靶标。与 Hair 和 SlZFP8L 类似，SlZFP6 的过表达也增加了番茄毛的密度和长度。总之，我们的研究结果表明，Hair 与 SlZFP8-like 相互作用，通过调节番茄中 SlZFP6 的表达来调节毛状体的起始和伸长。