果实形状是果实类园艺作物的重要农艺性状，是果实外观品质的重要决定因子，也是园艺作物驯化和遗传改良的重要目标。发掘和研究果形的重要调控因子，深入解析其分子机理，对于丰富果实发育理论、指导果形遗传改良具有重要意义。申请人长期从事番茄功能基因发掘和研究，在前期研究中，我们从番茄中克隆了一个调控果实形状的锌指蛋白基因SlZF6。该基因随番茄果实发育至黄熟期表达逐渐增加，红熟期表达下降；超表达该基因的番茄果实形状出现类似分裂后期细胞的罕见果形（定义为“Telophase-like”）。本项目拟在此基础上，利用生长素和细胞分裂素报告系统研究转基因植株果实中这两种激素含量和分布的变化；重点利用染色质免疫共沉淀结合高通量测序技术以及蛋白质互作研究等手段深入研究SlZF6的调控网络，揭示其控制番茄果形变化的分子机制。研究结果将有助于阐明果实形状发育的分子机理，同时能为果实遗传改良提供新的基因资源。

Fruit-shape is an important agronomic trait for fruit-bearing horticultural crops, and it is also one of the critical determinants for fruit exterior quality as well as an essential target in domestication and genetic improvement of horticultural crops. Therefore, it is significant to identify important regulators on fruit shape and to characterize their underlying molecular mechanisms, which will enrich our knowledge on fruit development and be applicable in genetic improvement of fruit-shape trait. The applicant of this project has been making long-term efforts in the identification and functional characterization of tomato agronomically important genes. In our previous study, we have isolated a zinc-finger encoding gene, SlZF6, which controls the development of tomato fruit-shape. The transcripts of SlZF6 gradually increase till the yellow mature stage, and decrease during the ripening stage of tomato fruit. Rare fruit-shape designated as “Telophase-like”, which mimics the shape of a dividing cell at the telophase stage, has been created when SlZF6 is overexpressed in tomato plants. Base on these important progresses, this project aims at elucidating the molecular mechanism of SlZF6 which controls fruit-shape, by using integrative approaches. The dynamic distribution and concentration of auxin and cytokinin during the fruit development of transgenic plants will be investigated using hormone reporter systems. The regulatory network of SlZF6 will be studied by identifying its downstream target genes and interacting proteins using Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing (ChIP-Seq) and protein-protein interacting approaches, respectively. The research results will be helpful in understanding the molecular basis of fruit-shape development, and it will also provide new gene resource for fruit genetic improvement.