Revealing the key role of the folate synthesis regulatory gene DHNA in tobacco leaf yellowing based on BSA-seq, RNA-seq, and proteomic sequencing

The degree of yellowing in tobacco leaves is an important indicator for determining the maturity and harvesting time of tobacco leaves. Reduction in chlorophyll is of utility for promoting the concentrated maturation of tobacco leaves and achieving mechanised harvesting and mining, and utilising tobacco yellow leaf regulatory genes is of great significance for the selection and breeding of tobacco varieties suitable for mechanised harvesting and the resolution of the molecular mechanisms controlling leaf colouration. In this study, the phenotypes of the yellow-leaf K326 and K326 varieties were analysed, and it was observed that the yellow-leaf K326 variety exhibited a distinct yellow leaf phenotype with a significant reduction in chlorophyll content. Subsequently, using a combination of BSA-seq, transcriptomic sequencing (RNA-seq), and proteomic sequencing approaches, we identified the candidate gene Nitab4.5_0008674g0010 that encodes dihydroneopterin aldolase as a factor associated with tobacco leaf yellowing. Finally, by measuring the folate content in K326 and Huangye K326, the folate content in Huangye K326 was observed to be significantly lower than that in K326, thus indicating that folate synthesis plays a crucial role in phenotypic changes in tobacco yellow leaves. This study is the first to use BSA-seq combined with RNA-seq and proteomic sequencing to identify candidate genes in tobacco yellow leaves. The results provide a theoretical basis for the analysis of the mechanism of tobacco yellow leaf mutations. 9 samples were analyzed, including 3 plant materials, each with three replicates.