Expression of a cotton MADS-box gene is regulated in anther development and in response to phytohormone signaling

MADS-box gene family encodes a large number and variety of transcription regulators in plants. In this study, a cDNA, GhMADS9, encoding a typical MADS protein with 230 amino acids was isolated from cotton flower cDNA library. Subsequently, a 1,623 bp genomic DNA fragment of GhMADS9 gene was isolated in cotton by PCR. Compared with its cDNA sequence, six introns were found in GhMADS9 gene. Fluorescent microscopy indicated that GhMADS9 protein localized in the nucleus. Transactivation activity assay in yeast cells revealed that GhMADS9 protein did not show transcriptional activation. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that GhMADS9 was specially expressed in cotton anthers. Further in situ hybridization analysis demonstrated that strong expression of GhMADS9 gene was detected in developing pollens, but no or weak signals were found in the other anther tissues. Furthermore, GhMADS9 expression was dramatically up-regulated in anthers with abscisic acid (ABA) treatment, whereas its activity was down-regulated when treated by gibberellin (GA3). Collectively, our results suggest that GhMADS9 is a transcription factor and might be involved in cotton anther/pollen development and in response to ABA and GA3 signaling.