Genome-wide analysis of Hsp40 and Hsp70 gene family in four cotton species provides insights into their involvement in response to Verticillium dahliae and abiotic stress

Xin Zhou; Ling Su; Rui Tang; Yuxuan Dong; Fei Wang; Rong Li; Quanliang Xie; Xianliang Zhang; Guanghui Xiao; Hongbin Li

doi:10.3389/fgene.2023.1120861

Genome-wide analysis of Hsp40 and Hsp70 gene family in four cotton species provides insights into their involvement in response to Verticillium dahliae and abiotic stress

Front Genet. 2023 Jan 26:14:1120861. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1120861. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xin Zhou¹, Ling Su², Rui Tang¹, Yuxuan Dong¹, Fei Wang¹, Rong Li¹, Quanliang Xie¹, Xianliang Zhang³, Guanghui Xiao², Hongbin Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Xinjiang Phytomedicine Resource and Utilization of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Oasis Town and Mountain-basin System Ecology of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, College of Life Sciences, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China.
² College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
³ National Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research (CAAS), Anyang, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Cotton is an important economic crop to provide natural fibers as raw materials to textile industry, and is significantly affected by biotic and abiotic stress during the whole growth stage, in which Verticillium wilt (VW) caused by Verticillium dahliae is one of the most destructive disease to lead to a significant yield reduction. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are important molecular chaperones, and play crucial roles in plant growth, development, resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. Hsp40 and Hsp70 are two key Hsps in cell chaperone network, however, the function and regulatory mechanism of Hsp40 and Hsp70 members in VW resistance and abiotic stress in cotton are largely unknown. Methods and Results: Herein, a systematic and comprehensive analysis of Hsp40s and Hsp70s in four cotton species of Gossypium arboretum, G. raimondii, G. hirsutum, and G. barbadense were performed. A total of 291 Hsp40s and 171 Hsp70s identified in four Gossypium species. Sequence analysis revealed that all Hsp40 proteins contained J domain that provides the binding sites to Hsp70. Protein-protein interaction prediction analysis displayed that GhHsp40-55 might interact with GhHsp70-2 and GhHsp70-13, suggesting their potential function as protein complex. Promoter cis-acting element analysis demonstrated that multiple cis-elements related to disease and stress response consists in GhHsp40 and GhHsp70 promoters. Further expression analysis showed that eight GhHsp40s (Hsp40-2,4,8,11,20,23,53,55) and seven GhHsp70s (Hsp70-2,3,6,8,13,19,22) were up-regulated after V. dahliae infection. In addition, five GhHsp40s (Hsp40-2,8,11,53,55) and four GhHsp70s (Hsp70-3,6,8,13) were up-regulated after salt treatment, six GhHsp40s (Hsp40-4,11,20,23) and three GhHsp70s (Hsp70-2,8,19) were up-regulated after drought treatment, four GhHsp40s (Hsp40-2,11,20,23) and four GhHsp70s (Hsp70-3,6,19,22) were up-regulated after temperature treatment, suggesting these Hsps have possible important function in the process of abiotic stress response. Discussion: Our results lay a foundation for understanding the function of Hsp40 and Hsp70 in the resistance against V. dahliae and abiotic stress, and elucidating the regulatory mechanism of the protein complex, evolution and molecular mechanism under stress.

Keywords: HSP40 gene family; HSP70 gene family; Verticillium wilt resistance; abiotic stress response; cotton.

Grants and funding

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32070549, 32270578, and 32200444), China Postdoctoral Acience Foundation (2022M712005), Natural Science Basic Research Plan in the Shaanxi Province Basic Research Plan in the Anhui Province of China (2022JQ-197), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University (GK202002005) and State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology Open Fund (CB2022A01, CB2021A05, and CB2021A21). Project for Postdoctoral and High-level Flexible Talents of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Grant No. RSSQ00066509), Major Science and Technology Program of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture (Grant No. 2021Z01-01), Central Leading Local Science and Technology Development Fund Project of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (ZYYD2023C06) and Project for Developing Elite Varieties of Agriculture in Henan Province (2022010301).