The Jujube TCP Transcription Factor ZjTCP16 Regulates Plant Growth and Cell Size by Affecting the Expression of Genes Involved in Plant Morphogenesis

Jujube production is threatened by jujube witches’ broom (JWB) disease, which caused JWB phytoplasma. The TCP transcription factor (TF) ZjTCP16 may be involved in the interaction of plants with In this study, qRT-PCR proved that expression pattern was altered gene functions were analyzed its overexpression Arabidopsis and jujube, as well knock-down in. resulted dwarfism small leaves, while zjtcp16 CRISPR mutants higher than WT. Microscopic observation paraffin sections stems showed affected size cells. interactions ZjAS2 ZjLOB both cytoplasm nucleus demonstrated yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays. Yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assays further confirmed genes leaf morphogenesis cell proliferation (ZjAS1, ZjKNAT1, ZjKNAT2 ZjKNAT6) at mRNA level through pathways. conclusion, regulates plant growth altering morphogenesis-related jujube.