Abstract
Cotton is one of the most important fiber crops globally. Despite this, various abiotic stresses, including drought, cause yield losses. We used transcriptome profiles to investigate the co-expression patterns of gene networks associated with drought stress tolerance. We identified three gene modules containing 3,567 genes highly associated with drought stress tolerance. Within these modules, we identified 13 hub genes based on intramodular significance, for further validation. The yellow module has five hub genes (Gh_A07G0563, Gh_D05G0221, Gh_A05G3716, Gh_D12G1438, and Gh_D05G0697), the brown module contains three hub genes belonging to the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) gene family (Gh_A06G1257, Gh_A06G1256, and Gh_D06G1578), and the pink module has five hub genes (Gh_A02G1616, Gh_D12G2599, Gh_D07G2232, Gh_A02G0527, and Gh_D07G0629). Based on RT-qPCR results, the Gh_A06G1257 gene has the highest expression under drought stress in different plant tissues and it might be the true candidate gene linked to drought stress tolerance in cotton. Silencing of Gh_A06G1257 in cotton leaves conferred significant sensitivity in response to drought stress treatments. Overexpression of Gh_A06G1257 in Arabidopsis also confirms its role in drought stress tolerance. L-valine, Glutaric acid, L-proline, L-Glutamic acid, and L-Tryptophan were found to be the most significant metabolites playing roles in drought stress tolerance. These findings add significantly to existing knowledge of drought stress tolerance mechanisms in cotton.
Highlights
Cotton (Gossypium spp.) has been cultivated for many years by human beings (Fang et al, 2017)
Higher activities of CAT and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were observed in MG85 and CRI12 under drought stress conditions, lower CAT and SOD were observed in the case of LT40
In the current research work, an integrated transcriptome and metabolome approach to investigate gene/s to cope with drought in cotton was utilized
Summary
Cotton (Gossypium spp.) has been cultivated for many years by human beings (Fang et al, 2017). G. hirsutum accounts for 95% of the yearly cotton production globally (Ullah A. et al, 2017) with India, China, United States, Pakistan, and Brazil being the leading five cotton-growing countries in the world. They produce 76% of all cotton on the globe (Baytar et al, 2018). China’s cotton industry has grown considerably in the last 60 years. It produces 30% of the world’s cotton despite only having 15% of acreage for cotton at present (Dai and Dong, 2016). Plants change the transcriptional activity of stress response genes at the molecular level in response to abiotic stimuli
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