Cloning of Cotton Delta-12 Oleate Desaturase Gene FAD2-1 and Construction of Its ihpRNA and amiRNA Interference Vectors

Delta-12 oleate desaturase gene （FAD2-1） which converts oleic acid into linoleic acid, is the key enzyme determining the fatty acid composition of cottonseed oil. By employing RT-PCR method, full length cDNA of cotton delta-12 oleate desat- urase gene GhFAD2-1 containing an open reading frame of 1 158 bp was cloned for constructing RNAi vector. A 515 bp long specific fragment of this gene was se- lected for constructing ihpRNA vector under the control of a seed-specific promoter NAPIN, named pFGC1008-NAPIN-FAD2-1; meanwhile miRNA gene-silencing vector pCAMBIA1302-amiRNA-FAD2-1 targeting GhFAD2-1 was also constructed.

Molecular Characterization of Four ADF Genes Differentially Expressed in Cotton

Actin depolymerizing factor （ADF）, highly conserved in all eukaryotic cells, is a low molecular mass of actin-binding protein, which plays a key role in modulating the polymerizing and depolymerizing of the actin filaments. Four cDNAs （designated GhADF2, GhADF3, GhADF4, and GhADF5, respectively） encoding ADF proteins were isolated from cotton （Gossypium hirsutum） fiber cDNA library. GhADF2 cDNA is 705 bp in length and deduces a protein with 139 amino acids. GhADF3 cDNA is 819 bp in length and encodes a protein of 139 amino acids. GhADF4 cDNA is 804 bp in length and deduces a protein with 143 amino acids. GhADF5 cDNA is 644 bp in length and encodes a protein of 141 amino acids. The molecular evolutionary relationship of these genes was analyzed by means of bioinformatics. GhADF2 is closely related to GhADF3 （99% identity） and PetADF2 （89% identity）. GhADF4 is closely related to AtADF6 （78% identity）, and GhADF5 is closely related to AtADF5 （83% identity）. These results demonstrated that the plant ADF genes are highly conserved in structure. RT-PCR analysis showed that GhADF2 is predominantly expressed in fiber, whereas, GhADF5 is mainly expressed in cotyledons. On the other hand, it seems that GhADF3 and GhADF4 have no tissue specificity. Expression levels of different ADF genes may vary considerably in the same cell type, suggesting that they might be involved in regulating tissue development of cotton and the each ADF isoform may diverge to form the functional difference from the other ADFs during evolution.

Characterization of the 19 Novel Cotton FLA Genes and Their Expression Profiling in Fiber Development and in Response to Phytohormones and Salt Stress

Fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins(FLAs),a subclass of arabinogalactan proteins(AGPs),are usually involved in cell development in plants.To investigate the expression profiling as well

Cloning and Expression Analysis of a Brassinosteroid Biosynthetic Enzyme Gene,GhDWF1,from Cotton (Gossypium hirsuturm L.)

Brassinosteroids （BRs） are an important class of plant steroidal hormones that are essential in a wide variety of physiological processes. To determine the effects of BRs on the development of cotton fibers, through screening cotton fiber EST database and contigging the candidate ESTs, a key gene （GhDWF1） involved in the upstream biosynthetic pathway of BRs was cloned from developing fibers of upland cotton （Gossypium hirsutum L.） cv. Xuzhou 142. The full length of the cloned cDNA is 1 849 bp, including a 37 bp 5＇-untranslated region, an ORF of 1 692 bp, and a 120 bp 3＇-untranslated region. The cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 563 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 65 kD. The deduced amino acid sequence has high homology with the BR biosynthetic enzyme, DWARF1/DIMINUTO, from rice, maize, pea, tomato, and Arabidopsis. Furthermore, the typical conserved structures, such as the transmembrane domain, the FAD- dependent oxidase domain, and the FAD-binding site, are present in the GhDWF1 protein. The Southern blot indicated that the GhDWF1 gene is a single copy in upland cotton genome. RT-PCR analysis revealed that the highest level of GhDWF1 expression was detected in 0 DPA （day post anthesis） ovule （with fibers） while the lowest level was observed in cotyledon. The GhDWF1 gene presents high expression levels in root, young stem, and fiber, especially, at the fiber developmental stage of secondary cell wall accumulation. Moreover, the expression level was higher in ovules （with fibers） of wildtype （Xuzhou 142） than in ovules of fuzzless-lintless mutant at the same developmental stages （0 and 4 DPA）. The results suggest that the GhDWF1 gene plays a crucial role in fiber development.

Characterization of an Organ Specific and Pathogen Responsive CC-NBS-LRR Gene from Cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Cotton diseases represent a major challenge to cotton growth.Cloning of a cotton pathogen response gene and promoter is of great importance to improve disease resistance.In this study,a

Genetic Analysis of Cryotolerance in Cotton During the Overwintering Period Using Mixed Model of Major Gene and Polygene

The joint analysis of the mixed genetic model of major gene and polygene was conducted to study the inheritance of cryotolerance in cotton during the overwintering period.H077（G.hirsutum L.,weak cryotolerance） and H113（G.barbadence L.,strong cryotolerance） were used as parents.Cryotolerance of six generation populations including P1,P2,F1,B1,B2,and F2,from each of the two reciprocal crosses H077×H113 and H113×H077 were all investigated.The results showed that cryotolerance in cotton during the overwintering period was accorded with two additive major genes and additivedominance polygene genetic model.For cross H077×H113,the heritabilities of major genes in B1,B2,and F2 were 83.62,76.84,and 90.56%,respectively;and the heritability of polygene could only be detected in B2,which was 7.76%.For cross H113×H077,the heritabilities of major genes in B1,B2,and F2 were 67.42,68.95,and 83.40%,respectively;and the heritability of polygene was only detected in F2,which was 6.51%.In addition,the whole heritability in F2 was always higher than that in B1 and B2 in each cross.Therefore,for the cryotolerance breeding of perennial cotton,the method of single cross recombination or single backcross should be adopted to transfer major genes,and the selection in F2 would be more efficient than that in other generations.

Introduction of rol Genes into Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Genome and Effects of Transgene Expression on the Plant Development

The rol genes cloned from Agrobacterium rhizogenes were transferred to the cotton genomevia Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Molecular analyses and developmentalidentification of the putative transgenic plants were carried out by means of PCR,Southern blotting and field characterization. The results showed that the expression ofrol genes greatly increased the rooting ability of the transgenic plants, and changed theplant development. Highly male-sterile plants with strong apical dominance and fertileplants with short internodes, stunted growth and improved economic characteristics weresegregated from the T1 transgenic lines of wild rol B gene and the rol B gene driven by35S promoter. The transgenic lines of rol ABC construct usually had normal boll settingand slow growth. Therefore we concluded that the rol genes, modified in suitable ways,could be used to create new cotton varieties with some highly valuable characteristics.

Differential Gene Expression Between Hybrids and Their Parents During the Four Crucial Stages of Cotton Growth and Development

The study aims to clarify the differential gene expression between cotton hybrids and their parents in order to better understand the molecular basis of cotton heterosis. The research focused on cotton heterotic and lower heterotic hybrids and their parents during the four crucial stages, which were analyzed using a differential display technique. The results indicated that there were both quantitative and qualitative differences in gene expression amongst them. The quantitative differences include over- and under-expression of parental genes and the dominant expression of highly-expressed parental genes in hybrids. In contrast, the qualitative differences are the following： （i） Bands were observed in both parents but not in the F1 hybrid （BPnF1）; （ii） bands occurred in either of the parents but not in the F1 hybrid （UPnF1）; （iii） bands presented only in the F1 hybrid but not in either of the parents （UF1nP）; and （iv） bands were detected in either of the parents and the F1 hybrid （UPF1）. Overall, the major differences of gene expression occurred in the qualitative level and four related differential patterns were observed. Furthermore, the amount of differential patterns during the flowering stage was relatively higher than those of other stages. At this juncture, both the amount of hybrid-specific expression patterns at flowering stage and the silenced expression patterns at boll-forming stage in highly heterotic hybrids were found higher than those in the lower heterotic ones. It was concluded that significant differences of gene expression in leaves were present between cotton hybrid and its parents during the whole growing stages. Hence, these differences might be responsible for the observed cotton heterosis.

Improvements of Fiber Yield and Fiber Fineness by Expressing the iaaM Gene in Cotton Seed Coat

Cotton,the most important natural fiber crop in the world,is a mainstay in China's economy.However,for over two decades,cotton yields both in China and U.S.have been at a plateau.

Analysis of short fruiting branch gene and Marker-assisted selection with SNP linked to its trait in upland cotton

Background： With the rapid development of genomics, many functional genes have been targeted. Molecular marker assisted selection can accelerate the breeding process by linking selection to functional genes. Methods： In a study of upland cotton （Gossypium hirsutum L.）, the F2 segregated population was constructed by crossing X1570 （short branches） with Ekangmian 13 （long branches） to identify the short fruiting branch gene and marker assisted selection with SNP（Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, SNP） linked to its trait. Result： The result demonstrated that linked SSR marker BNL3232 was screened by BSA（Bulked segregant analysis, BSA） method; one SNP locus was found, which was totally separated from the fruiting branches trait in upland cotton. Conclusion： It was verified that this SNP marker could be used for molecular assisted selection of cotton architecture

Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes Associated with Cotton Fiber Development in a Chromosomal Substitution Line(CS-B22sh)

One of the impediments in the genetic improvement of cotton fiber is the paucity of information about genes associated with fiber development.Availability of chromosome arm substitution line CS-

Transformation of Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) with gfp Gene as a Visual Marker

The green-fluorescent protein （gfp） gene was evaluated as a screening marker during cotton （Gossypium hirsutum L.） transforming and plant regeneration. High expression of GFP （green-fluorescent protein） was observed in transgenic cells as early as 42 h after co-culture with Agrobacterium. Most of the stable transformation events were detected in the cells of primary vascular tissue. GFP transient expression could be detected on all the explants after co-culturing for 4 d, however, the highest GFP stable expression was recorded when the explants were co-cultured for 3 d. We believe the transient and stable expression of a foreign gene in genetic transformation were two relative but different events, because high transient expression did not surely lead to high stable transformation. Under the same conditions of in vitro culture, transgenic and non-transgenic calli exhibited different morphological characters on different stages of development. High concentration of plant growth regulators （PGRs） was efficient for somatic embryogenesis of the transgenic calli, which means that the transgenic calli need relatively higher dose of hormone for further growth and somatic embryogenesis than non-transgenic ones. Strong GFP-expression was observed in leaf, stem, petioles, floral tissues, and seedlings of T~ progeny. Segregation ratios of eight transgenic lines were scored for expression of GFP in the T~ progeny that providing further evidence of stable transformation. These results proved that GFP is a powerful reporter gene for protocol optimization, selection, and monitioring in whole transformation events.

Selection of Homozygous Cotton Lines Transformed with Two Insect-Resistant Genes

A plant expression vector containing a chimeric Bt29K gene coding for the activated Cry1Ac protein and the arrowhead proteinase inhibitior gene API B were introduced into the cotton cultivar Jihe321 mediated by Agrobactertium tumefaciens. Based on the results of kanamycin resistant testing, PCR detection for both foreign genes and insect bioassay using Heliethis armigera , nine transgenic homozygous cotton lines with insect resistance of more than 90% and better agronomic traits were bred through six generations from the original transgenic plants. Results from insect bioassay and sequence analysis of the PCR products of plants from some homozygous lines indicated that the chimeric Bt29K gene was stably inherited in these transgenic cotton lines. The main agronomic characters of these homozygous cotton lines, such as boll productivity and fibre strength, were better than that of the original cotton cv. Jihe321.

Functional Investigation of a Cotton Fiber HOX Gene

Most of the plant homeodomain-containing proteins play important roles in regulating cell differentiation and organ development,and Arabidopsis GLABRA2(GL2),a member of the class IV homeodomain-Leucine zipper(HD-ZIP) proteins,is a trichome and non-root hair cell regulator.We

Transcriptome and QTL analyses reveal candidate genes for fiber quality in Upland cotton

With increasing demand for high-quality cotton,it is desirable to identify genes involved in fiber development for molecular improvement of cotton.In this study,780 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were identified in developing fibers at 10 days post-anthesis(DPA)in Gossypium hirsutum acc.DH962 and G.hirsutum cv.Jimian 5 using RNA-seq.Of 15 stable QTL for fiber quality identified in the same two parents in previous studies,4,3,6,1,and 1 QTL were associated with fiber length(FL),fiber strength(FS),micronaire(MIC),fiber elongation(FE)and fiber length uniformity ratio(FU),respectively.Integration of DEGs and QTL allowed the identification of 31 genes in 9 QTL regions,of which 25 were highly expressed in fibers based on the transcriptome datasets and 9 were preferentially expressed in different stages of fiber development.Gh_A01G0453(GhDTX19),Gh_D07G1581 and Gh_D04G0942 were expressed specifically in 5 and 10 DPA fibers,with Gh_D04G0942 showing low expression in other tissues except pistil.Gh_D07G1799(GhGAUT9),Gh_D11G0326(GhVPS29),Gh_D11G0333(GhTCP14),and Gh_D11G0334(GhNRP2)were preferentially expressed in 5 or 10 DPA fibers;Gh_A01G0397(GhABCG10)and Gh_D07G1744 were expressed specifically in 20 and 25 DPA fibers.These results suggest candidate genes for molecular improvement of cotton fiber quality.

Genome-wide analysis of Rf-PPR-like(RFL)genes and a new InDel marker development for Rf1 gene in cytoplasmic male sterile CMS-D2 Upland cotton

Background: Cytoplasmic male sterility in flowering plants is a convenient way to use heterosis via hybrid breeding and may be restored by nuclear restorer-of-fertility(Rf) genes. In most cases, Rf genes encoded pentatricopeptide repeat(PPR) proteins and several Rf genes are present in clusters of similar Rf-PPR-like(RFL) genes. However, the Rf genes in cotton were not fully characterized until now.Results: In total, 35 RFL genes were identified in G. hirsutum, 16 in G. arboreum, and 24 in G. raimondii. Additionally,four RFL-rich regions were identified; the RFL-rich region in Gh05 is the probable location of Rf-PPR genes in cotton and will be studied further in the future. Furthermore, an insertion sequence was identified in the promoter sequence of Gh05 G3392 gene in the restorer line, as compared with the CMS-D2 line and maintainer lines. An InDel-R marker was then developed and could be used to distinguish the restorer line carrying Rfl from other genotypes without the Rf1 allele.Conclusion: In this study, genome-wide identification and analysis of RFL genes have identified the candidate Rf-PPR genes for CMS in Gossypium. The identification and analysis of RFL genes and sequence variation analysis will be useful for cloning Rf genes in the future and also for three-line hybrid breeding in cotton.

Isolation and Characterization of the Cytoplasmic Male Sterility Associated Gene of Cotton(Gossypium harknessii)

Cytoplasmic male sterility(CMS) is a maternally inherited trait that results in the failure to produce functional pollen.It was identified in many plants,and it is widely used to exploit heterosis.

Transgenic Cotton and Disease Resistance Genes

Success in conventional breeding for resistance to mycotoxin-producing or other phytopathogenic fungi is dependent on the availability of resistance gene(s) in the germplasm.Even when it is available,breeding for disease-resistant crops is very time consuming,especially in perennial crops such

Identification of Key Genes in Cotton Fiber

Twenty-eight candidate genes provided by other sub-projects were used to produce transgenic cotton plants.There were over 1000 individuals,and some of them were generation T2 or T3.All

Genetics and Expression of the Brown Lint Gene in Colored Cotton

The major cotton grown commercially in the world is white lint,but recently many people prefer to have garments made by natural colored cotton.This can be used directly in textile industries,avoiding the complicated and unsafe processes of bleaching and dying,and thus it is eco-friendly.However,little is known about the heredity of the colored lint gene in colored cotton.In the present study,