DREB transcription factors are crucial regulators of abiotic stress responses in Gossypium spp.

Abstract

Plants are adversely affected by abiotic stress conditions such as heat, drought, cold, and salinity. The physiological determinants of cotton stress tolerance and its processes were investigated to mitigate the effect of abiotic stress on cotton growth and development. The DEHYDRATION-RESPONSIVE ELEMENT BINDING protein (DREB) transcription factors are stress-responsive and regulate the expression of downstream stress-inducible genes, leading to subsequent resistance to several abiotic stressors. Advanced omics technologies have recently improved our understanding of the complex molecular events of cotton that precede abiotic stress responses. We highlight the central abiotic stress resistance mechanisms in cotton, elaborating on the identified and unidentified regulatory variables. The evolutionary relationship between DREB transcription factors (TFs), divided into six subtypes in Gossypium hirsutum, Gossypium raimondii, and Arabidopsis thaliana, was reviewed. Moreover, the evolutionary antecedents, conserved motifs, and gene structure of the cotton DREB gene family have been discussed. This review offers an in-depth perspective on the contribution of DREB TFs to cotton tolerance to abiotic stress conditions, such as cold, drought, salt, heat, and heavy metals. Overall, this review identified essential genes in Gossypium spp and other species that could hasten applied studies toward their engineering into plants to mitigate abiotic stress.