Melatonin Inhibits Cadmium Translocation and Enhances Plant Tolerance by Regulating Sulfur Uptake and Assimilation in Solanum lycopersicum L.

Abstract

Sulfur (S) metabolism plays a vital role in Cd detoxification, but the collaboration between melatonin biosynthesis and S metabolism under Cd stress remains unaddressed. Using exogenous melatonin, melatonin-deficient tomato plants with a silenced caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, and COMT-overexpressing plants with cosuppression of sulfate transporter (SUT)1 and SUT2 genes, we found that melatonin deficiency decreased S accumulation and aggravated Cd phytotoxicity, whereas exogenous melatonin or overexpression of COMT increased S uptake and assimilation, resulting in an improved plant growth and Cd tolerance. Melatonin deficiency promoted Cd translocation from root to shoot, but COMT overexpression caused the opposite effect. COMT overexpression failed to compensate the functional hierarchy of S when its uptake was inhibited by cosilencing of transporter SUT1 and SUT2. Our study provides genetic evidence that melatonin-mediated tolerance to Cd is closely associated with the efficient regulation of S metabolism, redox homeostasis, and Cd translocation in tomato plants.