Using association mapping and local interval haplotype association analysis to improve the cotton drought stress response.

Drought stress has a serious impact on the growth and development of cotton. To explore the relevant molecular mechanism of the drought stress response in cotton, gene mapping based on the QTL interval mapped by simplified genome BSA-seq of the drought-resistance-related RIL population was performed. A QTL region spanning 2.02 Mb on chromosome D07 was selected, and 201 resource materials were genotyped using 9 KASP markers in the interval. After local interval haplotype association analysis, the overlap of the 110 kb peak region confirmed the reliability of this region, and at the same time, the role of GhGF14–30 , the only gene in the overlapping region, was modeled in the response of cotton to drought stress. qRT PCR analysis of the materials and population parents proved that this gene plays a role in the drought stress response in cotton. Virus-induced gene silencing proved the importance of this gene in drought-sensitive materials, and drought-resistance-related marker genes also proved that the GhGF14–30 gene may play an important role in the ABA and SOS signaling pathways. This study provides a basis for mining drought stress response functional genes in cotton and lays the foundation for the molecular mechanism of the GhGF14–30 gene in response to drought stress in cotton. • Combine genetic populations with natural populations to quickly and accurately mine key genes. • Kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) marker-assisted interval localization of key genes was performed. • Genes that are key in the response to drought stress in cotton were characterized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]