Functional study of eIF5A in Nicotiana tabacum by Riobosome-seq

Tobacco serves as a crucial economic crop globally, having significantly propelled the development of human society. In this study, Nicotiana tabacum was employed as the research model to explore the potential biological functions of 10 genes of the eIF5A family, which contributes to an in-depth understanding of the potential gene redundancy phenomenon. As a eukaryotic translation initiation factor, eIF5A exhibits high conservation across plant species, including N. tabacum . A total of 1,019 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in, among which 656 were upregulated and 363 downregulated specifically at the translational level, rather than the transcriptional level. The eif5a ^mut exhibits extremely obvious phenotypic characteristics and is shorter than the wild type(K326). Through Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analyses of these DEGs, they were found to be significantly enriched in photosynthesis-related pathways, including roles in light capture and the composition of the photosynthetic system. This finding is essential for understanding the roles of the eIF5A gene and its hypusination modification in plant development and stress responses. Additionally, prediction of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of eIF5A revealed potential interactions with proteins such as DHS1, suggesting its involvement in Deoxyhypusine synthesis via PPI. This study systematically explores the biological functions of eIF5A in N. tabacum , filling a research gap in the current understanding of eIF5A in tobacco. The findings lay a foundation for further investigations aimed at improving tobacco quality.