Molecular mechanism of StCLE12 peptide in regulating potato tuber development

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) growth and productivity rely on highly coordinated processes that involving not only the critical stolon-to-tuber transition but also root organogenesis, vascular development, and environmental stress adaptation. While key regulators such as the mobile signal StSP6A and classical phytohormones have been extensively studied, the contribution of peptide-mediated signaling to tuber development and environmental adaptation remains largely unexplored. To address this knowledge gap, this thesis focuses on the functional characterization of the CLE peptide StCLE12 (StCLE12p), aiming to elucidate how this peptide-mediated signaling contributes to the coordination of potato development and environmental stress responses. By integrating physiological assays, transgenic approaches, transcriptomic analyses, and evolutionary studies, this work identifies StCLE12p as a conserved growth-regulatory peptide associated with vascular development, hormone signaling, and carbon allocation. Overall, this study expands the current understanding of CLE peptide signaling in crop species and highlights the importance of peptide-mediated regulation in coordinating developmental processes and stress adaptation in potato.