LeAN2 encodes an R2R3-MYB TF involved in anthocyanin regulation
in tomato (Boches et al., 2009). In our previous study,
we found that LeAN2 can function in tobacco, and overexpression
of LeAN2 results in increased anthocyanin accumulation (Meng
et al., 2014). However, knowledge about LeAN2 is still limited, and
whether overexpression of LeAN2 can induce anthocyanin accumulation
and thermo-tolerance in transgenic tomato plants remains
unclear. Previous studies have presented evidence for the ability of
anthocyanins to provide protection under stressful conditions. Red
‘Anjou’ pear with higher anthocyanin concentration has a higher
photo-protective capacity thangreen‘Anjou’(Li et al., 2008).Anthocyanins
can protect David peach from low temperature injury (Leng
and Qi, 2003). Enhanced levels of anthocyanins in Arabidopsis
PAP1-D plants provide protection from salt stress (Oh et al., 2011).
In contrast, little is known about the effect of anthocyanins under
heat stress. We generated transgenic tomato plants with increased
LeAN2 expression to investigate the functions of LeAN2 in plant
anthocyanin biosynthesis and tolerance to heat stress.