A Putative Role for the Tomato Genes DUMPY and CURL-3 in Brassinosteroid Biosynthesis and Response

The dumpy (dpy) mutant of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) exhibits short stature, reduced axillary branching, and altered leaf morphology. Application of brassinolide and castasterone rescued the dpy phenotype, as did C-23-hydroxylated, 6-deoxo intermediates of brassinolide biosynthesis. The brassinolide precursors campesterol, campestanol, and 6-deoxocathasterone failed to rescue, suggesting that dpy may be affected in the conversion of 6-deoxocathasterone to 6-deoxoteasterone, similar to the Arabidopsis constitutive photomorphogenesis and dwarfism (cpd) mutant. Measurements of endogenous brassinosteroid levels by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were consistent with this hypothesis. To examine brassinosteroid-regulated gene expression in dpy, we performed cDNA subtractive hybridization and isolated a novel xyloglucan endotransglycosylase that is regulated by brassinosteroid treatment. The curl-3 (cu-3) mutant (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium [Jusl.] Mill.) shows extreme dwarfism, altered leaf morphology, de-etiolation, and reduced fertility, all strikingly similar to the Arabidopsis mutant brassinosteroid insensitive 1 (bri1). Primary root elongation of wild-type L. pimpinellifolium seedlings was strongly inhibited by brassinosteroid application, while cu-3 mutant roots were able to elongate at the same brassinosteroid concentration. Moreover, cu-3 mutants retained sensitivity to indole-3-acetic acid, cytokinins, gibberellin, and abscisic acid while showing hypersensitivity to 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in the root elongation assay. The cu-3 root response to hormones, coupled with its bri1-like phenotype, suggests that cu-3 may also be brassinosteroid insensitive.