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Cotton is the most important crop for the production of natural fibres used in the textile industry. High salinity, drought, cold and high temperature represent serious abiotic stresses, which seriously threaten cotton production. Phospholipase A S has an irreplaceable role in lipid signal transmission, growth and development and stress events. Phospholipase A can be divided into three families: PLA1 , PLA2 and pPLA. Among them, the PLA1 family is rarely studied in plants. In order to study the potential functions of the PLA1 family in cotton, the bioinformatics analysis of the PLA1 family was correlated with cotton adversity, and tissue-specific analysis was performed. Explore the structure-function relationship of PLA1 members. It is found that the expression of GbPLA1-32 gene is affected by a variety of environmental stimuli, indicating that it plays a very important role in stress and hormone response, and closely associates the cotton adversity with this family. Through further functional verification, we found that virus-induced GbPLA1-32 gene silencing (VIGS) caused Gossypium barbadense to be sensitive to salt stress. This research provides an important basis for further research on the molecular mechanism of cotton resistance to abiotic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choline kinase (CK) gene plays an important role in plants growth, development and resistance to stress. It mainly regulates the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine. This study aims to explore the structure–function relationship, and to provide a framework for functional validation and biochemical characterization of various CK genes. Our analysis showed that 87 CK genes were identified in cotton and 7 diploid plants, of which 43 genes encode CK proteins in 4 cotton species, and 13 genes were identified in Gossypium hirsutum. Most of GhCK genes are affected by the abiotic stress conditions, indicating the importance of CK proteins for plant development and response to abiotic stress. RT-qPCR analysis showed the tissue specificity of GhCK genes in response to Cd2+ and other abiotic stresses. Under Cd2+ stress, the expression level of GhCK gene family members has undergone different changes. The expression level of GhCK5 was enhanced, indicating that Cd2+ stress caused the increase of phosphatidylcholine content, which in turn reacted on the plant cell membrane, finally reached the absorption of Cd2+ into plant cells to repair Cd2+ the purpose of contaminated soil. This study will further broaden our understanding of the association between evolution and function of the GhCK gene family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • 379 drought-specific miRNAs could be divided into 73 miRNA families with different copy numbers. • Targets Gh_A12G1620 and Gh_D01G019 improved Arabidopsis drought tolerance significantly. • Small RNAs miRNA-precursors may involve in the regulation of targets methylation state. Abstract Cotton production is severely constrained by drought, especially if encountered during the seedling stage or the fiber initiation and elongation stage, but the regulatory mechanisms underlying the effects of drought remain unclear. Therefore, characterization and functional analysis of microRNA-mediated stress regulatory networks are critical to deciphering plant drought response. In this study, 357, 379 and 377 miRNAs with annotations were obtained using the drought-resistant cotton variety ZhongH177 under three treatments, CK, drought and re-watering, and divided into 73 miRNA families with varying copy numbers from 1 to 24. 136 differential expressed genes (DEGs) with significant expression changes were found, of which only 33 DEGs were upregulated, while 103 DEGs were downregulated under drought stress. However, most DEGs recovered their initial expression states when the plants were re-watered. In total, 2657 targets were identified and found to be mainly enriched in the pathways plant-pathogen interaction, plant hormone signal transduction and biosynthesis of amino acids. Drought tolerance was significantly enhanced in 2 transgenic Arabidopsis lines, showing that miRNAs were involved in cotton drought response. Analysis of the expression patterns of 2 miRNA precursors and methylation alterations of 2 targets suggested that these miRNAs or miRNA precursors may be involved in the regulation of target methylation states. Our study provides evidence of transcriptional responses to drought stress, which will be helpful for the research of drought-resistance mechanisms in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress is the main abiotic stress causing damage to cotton growth and severe yield loss. Under environmental stress conditions, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) folding environment is disturbed, resulting in the accumulation of unfolded/misfolded proteins, causing ER stress and triggering the unfolded protein response (UPR). Analysis of drought RNA-sequencing data revealed a Gh_D09G2402.1 (GhCNX) gene involved in ER protein processing. Through the observation of the ultrastructure of the ER under drought stress in cotton, the characteristic structure of the endoplasmic reticulum whorl was found. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) mediated GhCNX6 silenced cotton plants were found highly sensitive to drought stress. Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing GhCNX6 showed stronger tolerance to drought stress, indicating that the GhCNX6 gene is involved in the action mechanism of cotton drought stress and enhances the tolerance to drought stress. Drought stress leads to ER stress response, and the resulting ER whorl and CNX gene play a role in the ER protein processing pathway, thereby regulating the mechanism of cotton response to drought stress. This study will help to further explore the mechanism of cotton drought resistance. • Endoplasmic reticulum whorls found in cotton under drought stress. • First preliminary verification of GhCNX6 positively responding to drought stress. • The regulatory mechanism of GhCNX6 and ER whorls under drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]