Functional analysis of the BIN 2 genes of cotton

A comprehensive overview of cotton genomics, biotechnology and molecular biological studies

Cotton is an irreplaceable economic crop currently domesticated in the human world for its extremely elongated fiber cells specialized in seed epidermis, which makes it of high research and application value. To date, numerous research on cotton has navigated various aspects, from multi-genome assembly, genome editing, mechanism of fiber development, metabolite biosynthesis, and analysis to genetic breeding. Genomic and 3D genomic studies reveal the origin of cotton species and the spatiotemporal asymmetric chromatin structure in fibers. Mature multiple genome editing systems, such as CRISPR/Cas9, Cas12 (Cpf1) and cytidine base editing (CBE), have been widely used in the study of candidate genes affecting fiber development. Based on this, the cotton fiber cell development network has been preliminarily drawn. Among them, the MYB-bHLH-WDR (MBW) transcription factor complex and IAA and BR signaling pathway regulate the initiation; various plant hormones, including ethylene, mediated regulatory network and membrane protein overlap fine-regulate elongation. Multistage transcription factors targeting CesA 4, 7, and 8 specifically dominate the whole process of secondary cell wall thickening. And fluorescently labeled cytoskeletal proteins can observe real-time dynamic changes in fiber development. Furthermore, research on the synthesis of cotton secondary metabolite gossypol, resistance to diseases and insect pests, plant architecture regulation, and seed oil utilization are all conducive to finding more high-quality breeding-related genes and subsequently facilitating the cultivation of better cotton varieties. This review summarizes the paramount research achievements in cotton molecular biology over the last few decades from the above aspects, thereby enabling us to conduct a status review on the current studies of cotton and provide strong theoretical support for the future direction.

Analysis of the MIR160 gene family and the role of MIR160a_A05 in regulating fiber length in cotton

The MIR160 family in Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense was characterized, and miR160a_A05 was found to increase cotton-fiber length by downregulating its target gene (ARF17) and several GH3 genes. Cotton fiber is the most important raw material for the textile industry. MicroRNAs are involved in regulating cotton-fiber development, but a role in fiber elongation has not been demonstrated. In this study, miR160a was found to be differentially expressed in elongating fibers between two interspecific (between Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense) backcross inbred lines (BILs) with different fiber lengths. The gene MIR160 colocalized with a previously mapped fiber-length quantitative trait locus. Its target gene ARF17 was differentially expressed between the two BILs during fiber elongation, but in the inverse fashion. Bioinformatics was used to analyze the MIR160 family in both G. hirsutum and G. barbadense. Moreover, qRT-PCR analysis identified MIR160a as the functional MIR160 gene encoding the miR160a precursor during fiber elongation. Using virus-induced gene silencing and overexpression, overexpressed MIR160a_A05 resulted in significantly longer fibers compared with wild type, whereas suppression of miR160 resulted in significantly shorter fibers. Expression levels of the target gene auxin-response factor 17 (ARF17) and related genes GH3 in the two BILs and/or the virus-infected plants demonstrated similar changes in response to modulation of miR160a level. Finally, overexpression or suppression of miR160 increased or decreased, respectively, the cellular level of indole-3-acetic acid, which is involved in fiber elongation. These results describe a specific regulatory mechanism for fiber elongation in cotton that can be utilized for future crop improvement.

Modification of phytosterol composition influences cotton fiber cell elongation and secondary cell wall deposition

BACKGROUND

Cotton fiber is a single cell that arises from the epidermis of ovule. It is not only a main economic product of cotton, but an ideal material for studying on the growth and development of plant cell. Our previous study indicated that phytosterol content and the ratio of campesterol to sitosterol fluctuated regularly in cotton fiber development. However, what effects of modified phytosterol content and composition on the growth and development of cotton fiber cell is unknown. In this study, we overexpressed the GhSMT2-1, a cotton homologue of sterol C-24 methyltransferase 2 gene in transgenic upland cotton plants to modify phytosterol content and composition in fiber cells and investigated the changes on fiber elongation and secondary cell wall deposition.

RESULTS

GhSMT2-1 overexpression led to changes of phytosterol content and the ratio of campesterol to sitosterol in fiber cell. At the rapid elongation stage of fiber cell, total phytosterol and sitosterol contents were increased while campesterol content was decreased in transgenic fibers when compared to control fibers. Accordingly, the ratio of campesterol to sitosterol declined strikingly. Simultaneously, the transgenic fibers were shorter and thicker than control fibers. Exogenous application of sitosterol or campesterol separately inhibited control fiber cell elongation in cotton ovule culture system in vitro. In addition, campesterol treatment partially rescued transgenic fiber elongation.

CONCLUSION

These results elucidated that modification of phytosterol content and composition influenced fiber cell elongation and secondary cell wall formation. High sitosterol or low ratio of campesterol to sitosterol suppresses fiber elongation and/or promote secondary cell wall deposition. The roles of sitosterol and campesterol were discussed in fiber cell development. There might be a specific ratio of campesterol to sitosterol in different developmental stage of cotton fibers, in which GhSMT2-1 play an important role. Our study, at a certain degree, provides novel insights into the regulatory mechanisms of fiber cell development.

A Pivotal Role of Hormones in Regulating Cotton Fiber Development

Cotton is the main source of renewable fiber in the world and is primarily used for textile production. Cotton fibers are single cells differentiated from the ovule epidermis and are an excellent model system for studying cell elongation, polyploidization, and cell wall biosynthesis. Plant hormones, which are present in relatively low concentrations, play important roles in various developmental processes, and recently, multiple reports have revealed the pivotal roles of hormones in regulating cotton fiber development. For example, exogenous application of hormones has been shown to promote the initiation and growth of fiber cells. However, a comprehensive understanding about phytohormone regulating fiber development is still unknown. Here, we focus on recent advances in elucidating the roles of multiple phytohormones in the control of fiber development, namely auxin, gibberellin, brassinosteroid, ethylene, cytokinin, abscisic acid, and strigolactones. We not only review the identification of genes involved in hormone biosynthetic and signaling pathways but also discuss the mechanisms of these phytohormones in regulating the initiation and elongation of fiber cells in cotton. Auxin, gibberellin, brassinosteroid, ethylene, jasmonic acid, and strigolactones play positive roles in fiber development, whereas cytokinin and abscisic acid inhibit fiber growth. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive review of the role of phytohormones in cotton fiber development that will serve as the basis for further elucidation of the mechanisms by which plant hormones regulate fiber growth.

Phytosterol content and the campesterol:sitosterol ratio influence cotton fiber development: role of phytosterols in cell elongation

Phytosterols play an important role in plant growth and development, including cell division, cell elongation, embryogenesis, cellulose biosynthesis, and cell wall formation. Cotton fiber, which undergoes synchronous cell elongation and a large amount of cellulose synthesis, is an ideal model for the study of plant cell elongation and cell wall biogenesis. The role of phytosterols in fiber growth was investigated by treating the fibers with tridemorph, a sterol biosynthetic inhibitor. The inhibition of phytosterol biosynthesis resulted in an apparent suppression of fiber elongation in vitro or in planta. The determination of phytosterol quantity indicated that sitosterol and campesterol were the major phytosterols in cotton fibers; moreover, higher concentrations of these phytosterols were observed during the period of rapid elongation of fibers. Furthermore, the decrease and increase in campesterol:sitosterol ratio was associated with the increase and decease in speed of elongation, respectively, during the elongation stage. The increase in the ratio was associated with the transition from cell elongation to secondary cell wall synthesis. In addition, a number of phytosterol biosynthetic genes were down-regulated in the short fibers of ligon lintless-1 mutant, compared to its near-isogenic wild-type TM-1. These results demonstrated that phytosterols play a crucial role in cotton fiber development, and particularly in fiber elongation.

TaSK5, an abiotic stress-inducible GSK3/shaggy-like kinase from wheat, confers salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

A novel cold-inducible GSK3/shaggy-like kinase, TaSK5, was isolated from winter wheat using a macroarray-based differential screening approach. TaSK5 showed high similarity to Arabidopsis subgroup I GSK3/shaggy-like kinases ASK-alpha, AtSK-gamma and ASK-epsilon. RNA gel blot analyses revealed TaSK5 induction by cold and NaCl treatments and to a lesser extent by drought treatment. TaSK5 functionally complemented the cold- and salt-sensitive phenotypes of a yeast GSK3/shaggy-like kinase mutant, △mck1. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing TaSK5 cDNA showed enhanced tolerance to salt and drought stresses. By contrast, the tolerance of the transgenic plants to freezing stress was not altered. Microarray analysis revealed that a number of abiotic stress-inducible genes were constitutively induced in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants, suggesting that TaSK5 may function in a novel signal transduction pathway that appears to be unrelated to DREB1/CBF regulon and may involve crosstalk between abiotic and hormonal signals.

Transcriptome dynamics during fibre development in contrasting genotypes of Gossypium hirsutum L

Understanding the contribution of genetic background in fibre quality traits is important for the development of future cotton varieties with superior fibre quality. We used Affymetrix microarray (Santa Clara, CA) and Roche 454 GSFLX (Branford, CT) for comparative transcriptome analysis between two superior and three inferior genotypes at six fibre developmental stages. Microarray-based analysis of variance (ANOVA) for 89 microarrays encompassing five contrasting genotypes and six developmental stages suggests that the stages of the fibre development have a more pronounced effect on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) than the genetic background of genotypes. Superior genotypes showed enriched activity of cell wall enzymes, such as pectin methyl esterase, at early elongation stage, enriched metabolic activities such as lipid, amino acid and ribosomal protein subunits at peak elongation, and prolonged combinatorial regulation of brassinosteroid and auxin at later stages. Our efforts on transcriptome sequencing were focused on changes in gene expression at 25 DPA. Transcriptome sequencing resulted in the generation of 475 658 and 429 408 high-quality reads from superior and inferior genotypes, respectively. A total of 24 609 novel transcripts were identified manually for Gossypium hirsutum with no hits in NCBI 'nr' database. Gene ontology analyses showed that the genes for ribosome biogenesis, protein transport and fatty acid biosynthesis were over-represented in superior genotype, whereas salt stress, abscisic acid stimuli and water deprivation leading to the increased proteolytic activity were more pronounced in inferior genotype.

Function and evolution of 'green' GSK3/Shaggy-like kinases

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) proteins, also known as SHAGGY-like kinases, have many important cell signalling roles in animals, fungi and amoebae. In particular, GSK3s participate in key developmental signalling pathways and also regulate the cytoskeleton. GSK3-encoding genes are also present in all land plants and in algae and protists, raising questions about possible ancestral functions in eukaryotes. Recent studies have revealed that plant GSK3 proteins are actively implicated in hormonal signalling networks during development as well as in biotic and abiotic stress responses. In this review, we outline the mechanisms of Arabidopsis GSK3 action, summarize GSK3 functions in dicot and monocot flowering plants, and speculate on the possible functions of GSK3s in the earliest-evolving land plants.

Interactome analysis of the six cotton 14-3-3s that are preferentially expressed in fibres and involved in cell elongation

Proteins of the 14-3-3 family regulate a divergent set of signalling pathways in all eukaryotic organisms. In this study, several cDNAs encoding 14-3-3 proteins were isolated from a cotton fibre cDNA library. The Gh14-3-3 genes share high sequence homology at the nucleotide level in the coding region and at the amino acid level. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis indicated that the expression of these Gh14-3-3 genes is developmentally regulated in fibres, and reached their peak at the stage of rapid cell elongation of fibre development. Furthermore, overexpression of Gh14-3-3a, Gh14-3-3e, and Gh14-3-3L in fission yeast promoted atypical longitudinal growth of the host cells. Yeast two-hybrid analysis revealed that the interaction between cotton 14-3-3 proteins is isoform selective. Through yeast two-hybrid screening, 38 novel interaction partners of the six 14-3-3 proteins (Gh14-3-3a, Gh14-3-3e, Gh14-3-3f, Gh14-3-3g, Gh14-3-3h, and Gh14-3-3L), which are involved in plant development, metabolism, signalling transduction, and other cellular processes, were identified in cotton fibres. Taking these data together, it is proposed that the Gh14-3-3 proteins may participate in regulation of fibre cell elongation. Thus, the results of this study provide novel insights into the 14-3-3 signalling related to fibre development of cotton.

Cloning and expression analysis of GhDET3, a vacuolar H+ -ATPase subunit C gene, from cotton

Vacuolar H(+)-ATPase was regarded as a key enzyme promoting the fiber cell elongation in cotton (Gossypium hirsuturm L.) through regulating turgor-driven pressure involved in polarity expansion of single cell fiber. The DET3, a V-ATPase subunit C, plays an important role in assembling subunits and regulating the enzyme activity, and is involved in Brassinosteroid-induced cell elongation. To analyze the function of GhDET3 on the elongation of cotton fibers, seven candidates of ESTs were screened and contigged for a 5'-upstream sequence, and the 3'-RACE technique was used to clone the 3'-downstream sequence for the full length of GhDET3 gene. The full length of the target clone was 1,340 bp, including a 10 bp 5'-UTR, an ORF of 1,134 bp, and a 196 bp 3'-UTR. This cDNA sequence encoded a polypeptide of 377 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 43 kDa and a basic isoelectric point of 5.58. Furthermore, a length of 3,410 bp sequence from genomic DNA of GhDET3 was also cloned by PCR. The deduced amino acid sequence had a high homology with DET3 from Arabidopsis, rice, and maize. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the GhDET3 expression pattern was ubiquitous in all the tissues and organs detected. The result also revealed that the accumulation of GhDET3 mRNA reached the highest profile at the fiber elongation stage in 12 DPA (days post anthesis) fibers, compared with the lowest level at the fiber initiation stage in 0 DPA ovules (with fibers). The transcript accumulation in fibers and ovules shared the similar variation tendency. In addition, in vitro ovule culture experiment demonstrated that exogenous 24-EBL treatment to 4 DPA ovules (with fibers) was capable of increasing the expression level of GhDET3, and the mRNA accumulation of GhDET3 increased in transgenic FBP7::GhDET2 cotton fibers in vivo. These results indicate that GhDET3 gene plays a crucial role in cotton fiber elongation.

Cloning and expression of two sterol C-24 methyltransferase genes from upland cotton (Gossypium hirsuturm L.)

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are an important class of plant steroidal hormones that are essential in a wide variety of physiological processes. Two kinds of intermediates, sitosterol and campesterol, play a crucial role in cell elongation, cellulose biosynthesis, and accumulation. To illuminate the effects of sitosterol and campesterol on the development of cotton (Gossypium hirsuturm L.) fibers through screening cotton fiber EST database and contigging the candidate ESTs, two key genes GhSMT2-1 and GhSMT2-2 controlling the sitosterol biosynthesis were cloned from developing fibers of upland cotton cv. Xuzhou 142. The full length of GhSMT2-1 was 1,151 bp, including an 8 bp 5'-untranslated region (UTR), a 1,086 bp open reading frame (ORF), and a 57 bp 3'-UTR. GhSMT2-1 gene encoded a polypeptide of 361 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 40 kDa. The full length of GhSMT2-2 was 1,166 bp, including an 18 bp 5'-UTR, a 1,086 bp ORF, and a 62 bp 3'-UTR. GhSMT2-2 gene encoded a polypeptide of 361 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 40 kDa. The two deduced amino acid sequences had high homology with the SMT2 from Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum. Furthermore, the typical conserved structures characterized by the sterol C-24 methyltransferase, such as region I (LDVGCGVGGPMRAI), region II (IEATCHAP), and region III (YEWGWGQSFHF), were present in both deduced proteins. Southern blotting analysis indicated that GhSMT2-1 or GhSMT2-2 was a single copy in upland cotton genome. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis revealed that the highest expression levels of both genes were detected in 10 DPA (day post anthesis) fibers, while the lowest levels were observed in cotyledon and leaves. The expression level of GhSMT2-1 was 10 times higher than that of GhSMT2-2 in all the organs and tissues detected. These results indicate that the homologue of sterol C-24 methyltransferase gene was cloned from upland cotton and both GhSMT2 genes play a crucial role in fiber elongation. The role of GhSMT2-1 may be more important than that of GhSMT2-2.

T-DNA tagged knockout mutation of rice OsGSK1, an orthologue of Arabidopsis BIN2, with enhanced tolerance to various abiotic stresses

T-DNA-tagged rice plants were screened under cold- or salt-stress conditions to determine the genes involved in the molecular mechanism for their abiotic-stress response. Line 0-165-65 was identified as a salt-responsive line. The gene responsible for this GUS-positive phenotype was revealed by inverse PCR as OsGSK1 (Oryza sativa glycogen synthase kinase3-like gene 1), a member of the plant GSK3/SHAGGY-like protein kinase genes and an orthologue of the Arabidopsis brassinosteroid insensitive 2 (BIN2), AtSK21. Northern blot analysis showed that OsGSK1 was most highly detected in the developing panicles, suggesting that its expression is developmental stage specific. Knockout (KO) mutants of OsGSK1 showed enhanced tolerance to cold, heat, salt, and drought stresses when compared with non-transgenic segregants (NT). Overexpression of the full-length OsGSK1 led to a stunted growth phenotype similar to the one observed with the gain-of-function BIN/AtSK21 mutant. This suggests that OsGSK1 might be a functional rice orthologue that serves as a negative regulator of brassinosteroid (BR)-signaling. Therefore, we propose that stress-responsive OsGSK1 may have physiological roles in stress signal-transduction pathways and floral developmental processes.