Cotton PRP5 gene encoding a proline-rich protein is involved in fiber development

Proline-rich proteins contribute to cell wall structure of specific cell types and are involved in plant growth and development. In this study, a fiber-specific gene, GhPRP5, encoding a proline-rich protein was functionally characterized in cotton. GhPRP5 promoter directed GUS expression only in trichomes of both transgenic Arabidopsis and tobacco plants. The transgenic Arabidopsis plants with overexpressing GhPRP5 displayed reduced cell growth, resulting in smaller cell size and consequently plant dwarfs, in comparison with wild type plants. In contrast, knock-down of GhPRP5 expression by RNA interference in cotton enhanced fiber development. The fiber length of transgenic cotton plants was longer than that of wild type. In addition, some genes involved in fiber elongation and wall biosynthesis of cotton were up-regulated or down-regulated in the transgenic cotton plants owing to suppression of GhPRP5. Collectively, these data suggested that GhPRP5 protein as a negative regulator participates in modulating fiber development of cotton.     

Cotton TCTP1 gene encoding a translationally controlled tumor protein participates in plant response and tolerance to aphids

Cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii Glover) is one of the most important economic pests in the world. Long-term unreasonable usage of insecticides has made cotton aphid developing insecticide-resistance, which frequently leads to serious occurrences of cotton aphid in many regions. It is regarded effective and environmentally friendly to control aphids through utilizing plant resistance. In this study, a translationally controlled tumor protein gene, GhTCTP1, was isolated in cotton. It belongs to TCTP subfamily and encodes a protein of 168 amino acids. GhTCTP1 expression was suppressed in cotton plants under cotton aphid attack, but its expression level was up-regulated in the wounded cotton leaves. The choice test and no-choice test demonstrated that overexpression of GhTCTP1 in Arabidopsis enhanced plant resistance to green peach aphid (Myzus persicae). Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the defense response genes related to salicylic acid signaling pathway were activated in the GhTCTP1 overexpressing transgenic plants. Content of total amino acids was decreased, and phenylalanine ammonialyase activity was altered in leaves of the transgenic Arabidopsis plants, compared with those in wild type. Furthermore, the callose amount in transgenic Arabidopsis leaves was more than that of wild type. These data suggested that GhTCTP1 might be involved in regulation of plant tolerance to aphids, and can be potentially applied in improving aphid-resistance of crops by genetic manipulation.     

Functional diversi?cations of Gh ERF1 duplicate genes after the formation of allotetraploid cotton

Whole genome duplication, a prevalent force of evolution in plants, results in massive genome restructuring in different organisms. Roles of the resultant duplicated genes are poorly understood both functionally and evolutionarily. In the present study, differentially expressed ethylene responsive factors(GhERF1 s), anchored on Chr-A07 and Chr-D07 were isolated from a high-yielding cotton hybrid(XZM2)and its parents. The GhERF1 was located in the B3 subgroup of the ethylene responsive factors subfamily involved in conferring tolerance to abiotic stress Nucleotide sequence analysis of 524 diverse accessions together with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, elucidated that de-functionalization of GhERF1-7 A occurred due to one base insertion following formation of the allotetraploid cotton. Our quantitative trait loci and association mapping analyses highlighted a role for GhERF1-7 A in conferring high boll number per plant in modern cotton cultivars. Overexpression of GhERF1-7 A in transgenic Arabidopsis resulted in a substantial increase in the number of siliques and total seed yield. Neo-functionalization of GhERF1-7 A was also observed in modern cultivars rather than in races and/or landraces, further supporting its role in the development of high-yielding cotton cultivars. Both de-and neofunctionalization occurred in one of the duplicate genes,thus providing new genomic insight into the evolution of allotetraploid cotton species.