植物花粉对高温极为敏感，高温会造成花粉细胞蛋白变性，进而造成花粉结构破坏，活力下降，萌发受到抑制。然而关于花粉耐热调控机制尚不清楚。申请人前期研究发现高温下番茄自噬基因ATGs被诱导表达促进自噬体形成降解高温产生的变性蛋白，且ATGs基因中存在热激转录因子HSFs结合元件HSE；同时自噬基因缺失后番茄花粉活力显著下降。在此基础上，申请人提出高温下HSFs通过调控ATGs表达和自噬体产生降解变性蛋白，提高番茄花粉耐热性的学术思想。本项目拟以蔬菜主栽作物番茄为材料，利用已获得的番茄不同温敏型和转基因材料，研究高温下不同耐热性材料中相关基因表达、变性蛋白与自噬体数目差异；阐明HSFs通过结合ATGs启动子上热激元件调控自噬体产生提高番茄花粉耐热性的信号途径；并明确自噬降解变性蛋白与热激蛋白的关系，有望揭示番茄高温抗性机制，为创制耐热番茄新种质并提高番茄产量品质提供导向，具有潜在的经济和社会效益。

Pollen grain development is highly sensitive to temperature stresses in plants. High temperature can cause oxidation and denaturation of proteins that subsequently damage cellular structure and inhibit pollen germination in pollen cells. However, the mechanisms that control pollen thermotolerance is still unclear. The applicants have discovered that the expression of autophagy-related genes (ATGs) and formation of autophagy were induced to degrade the denatured proteins under heat stress in tomato plants, and heat shock elements (HSE)were detected in the promoters of these ATGs. Meanwhile, pollen viability was also decreased in tomato autophagy mutants. Therefore, the applicants hypothesize that HSFs may also induce expression of autophagy-related genes and formation of autophagy to degrade denatured proteins in tomato pollen and increase pollen viability under temperature stresses. Thus, the present project is planned to utilize thermotolerant tomato cultivars, and transgenic tomato plants as materials to investigate the expression of relative genes, accumulation of denatured proteins and formation of autophagy in different tomato genotypes. The project is focused on the mode of action on the involvement of HSFAs-regulated heat shock elements of ATGs and autophagy in degradation of denatured proteins in tomato pollen, and the relationship between autophagy and HSPs in protein degradation. It is expected to provide a theoretic basis to our current knowledge of the mechanisms of tomato temperature tolerance and technical guidance for thermotolerance breeding of tomato, and it has potentially economic and social benefits.