Transcriptional characterization and response to defense elicitors of mevalonate pathway genes in cotton (Gossypium arboreum L.)

Zhiqiang Zhang; Wei Liu; Zongbin Ma; Wei Zhu; Lin Jia

doi:10.7717/peerj.8123

Transcriptional characterization and response to defense elicitors of mevalonate pathway genes in cotton (Gossypium arboreum L.)

PeerJ. 2019 Nov 20:7:e8123. doi: 10.7717/peerj.8123. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Zhiqiang Zhang¹, Wei Liu¹, Zongbin Ma¹, Wei Zhu¹, Lin Jia¹

Affiliation

¹ Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Grain Crops/Agronomy College, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China.

Abstract

The mevalonate (MVA) pathway is responsible for the biosynthesis of cytosolic terpenes including gossypol and its derivatives, which play an important role in the cotton plant's defense against pathogens and herbivores. In this study, we identified and cloned 17 potentially functional genes encoding enzymes that catalyze the six steps of the MVA pathway in Gossypium arboreum. Expression pattern analysis by qRT-PCR demonstrated that these genes had tissue-specific expression profiles and were most prevalently expressed in roots. Moreover, these genes were up-regulated in response to several elicitors, including methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid, as well as Verticillium dahliae infection and Helicoverpa armigera infestation. This indicates that the MVA pathway genes are involved in the signaling pathway regulated by exogenous hormones and the resistance of cotton plants to pathogens and herbivores. Our results improve the understanding of cytosolic terpene biosynthesis in Gossypium species and lay the foundation for further research on gossypol biosynthesis.

Keywords: Elicitor response; Expression profile; Gossypium arboreum; MVA pathway; Terpene biosynthesis.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2018YFD0100306 and 2018YFD0100800), the Key Project of Science and Technology of Henan Province of China (192102110032) and the Key Scientific Research Project of Henan Higher Education Institutions (19A210016). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.