The m <sup>6</sup> A reader SlYTH2 negatively regulates tomato fruit aroma by impeding the translation process
Hanxiao Bian, Peizhe Song, Ying Gao, Zhiping Deng, Chenyang Huang, Lei Yu, Hanqing Wang, Bingbing Ye, Zhihe Cai, Yu Pan, Fengqin Wang, Jianzhao Liu, Xiangwei Gao, Kunsong Chen, Guifang Jia, Harry J. Klee, Bo Zhang
Abstract
N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is a fundamentally important RNA modification for gene regulation, whose function is achieved through m 6 A readers. However, whether and how m 6 A readers play regulatory roles during fruit ripening and quality formation remains unclear. Here, we characterized SlYTH2 as a tomato m 6 A reader protein and profiled the binding sites of SlYTH2 at the transcriptome-wide level. SlYTH2 undergoes liquid–liquid phase separation and promotes RNA–protein condensate formation. The target mRNAs of SlYTH2, namely m 6 A-modified SlHPL and SlCCD1B associated with volatile synthesis, are enriched in SlYTH2-induced condensates. Through polysome profiling assays and proteomic analysis, we demonstrate that knockout of SlYTH2 expedites the translation process of SlHPL and SlCCD1B , resulting in augmented production of aroma-associated volatiles. This aroma enrichment significantly increased consumer preferences for CRISPR-edited fruit over wild type. These findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms of m 6 A in plant RNA metabolism and provided a promising strategy to generate fruits that are more attractive to consumers.