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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2016, Vol. 15 Issue (11): 2469-2480    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61306-5
Crop Genetics · Breeding · Germplasm Resources Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Identification and expression analysis of group III WRKY transcription factors in cotton
DOU Ling-ling1, 2, GUO Ya-ning1, 2, Ondati Evans2, PANG Chao-you2, WEI Heng-ling2, SONG Mei-zhen2, FAN Shu-li2, YU Shu-xun1, 2
1 College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, P.R.China
2 State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology/Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Siences, Anyang 455000, P.R.China
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Abstract      The WRKY proteins constitute a large family of transcription factors in plants containing highly conserved WRKYGQK sequences and zinc-finger-like motifs. To comprehensively study WRKY III genes in cotton, we analyzed the genome sequences of Gossypium hirsutum, G. raimondii and G. arboreum. According to the three genome sequences, 18 group III GhWRKY genes were identified in G. hirsutum, 12 both in G. raimondii and G. arboreum. Phylogenetic and motif analysis showed that proteins with high similarities could be clustered together and had the same motif components. The ratios of non-synonymous (Ka) to synonymous (Ks) of the GhWRKY to GrWRKY or GaWRKY were lower than 1, which indicated that group III WRKY genes in Gossypium species are under purifying selection. Expression analysis revealed that group III GhWRKY genes expressed during fiber development and leaf senescence, and most of them could be induced by salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene, abscisic acid (ABA), mannitol, and NaCl both in roots and cotyledons. Our study gives a briefly introduction on cotton group III WRKY genes and implicates their potential function in cotton fiber development, leaf senescence and abiotic stresses.
Keywords:  Gossypium        WRKY        phylogenetic analysis        expression analysis        development        abiotic stress  
Received: 13 October 2015   Accepted:
Fund: 

We appreciate the National High-Tech R&D Program of China (2013AA102601) for the financial support provided to this project.

Corresponding Authors:  YU Shu-xun, Tel/Fax: +86-372-2525363, E-mail: ysx195311@163.com   
About author:  DOU Ling-ling, E-mail: xjyldll@126.com;

Cite this article: 

DOU Ling-ling, GUO Ya-ning, Ondati Evans, PANG Chao-you, WEI Heng-ling, SONG Mei-zhen, FAN Shu-li, YU Shu-xun. 2016. Identification and expression analysis of group III WRKY transcription factors in cotton. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 15(11): 2469-2480.

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