Authors
Qi Zhang, Meng Kang, Jingjing Zhang, Xiaohao Guo, Hongliang Jian, Li An, Mengxi Sun, Hongmei Wu, Fei Wei, Jianhua Lu, Xiaokang Fu
Published in
Plant science : an international journal of experimental plant biology. Pages 113558. Oct 27, 2026. Epub Oct 27, 2026.
Abstract
Salt stress severely constrains cotton seedling establishment, yield, and fiber quality. Although HD‑Zip transcription factors are known to play essential roles in abiotic stress adaptation in various plant species, their functions in cotton remain largely unexplored. In this study, we performed a comprehensive genome‑wide analysis of HD‑Zip genes in Gossypium hirsutum to uncover their evolutionary history and identify stress‑responsive regulatory components. Genome‑wide screening identified 90 HDZ members that were unevenly distributed across the 26 chromosomes of upland cotton. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the upland cotton HDZs were divided into six groups, with clade B absent from the seven clades identified across species. Analyses of gene structure and conserved domains provided strong evidence for the evolutionary conservation of HDZ members. The expansion of the GhHDZ family was primarily driven by duplication events, particularly whole‑genome duplication (WGD) and allotetraploidization, with purifying selection acting on these genes. The expression of GhHDZ-87 was upreglated under salt, drought, and ABA treatments. β-Glucuronidase (GUS) staining indicated that GhHDZ-87 was expressed in the roots, stems and leaves of ProGhHDZ-87::GUS transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. VIGS(Virus-induced gene silencing) assays suggested that knockdown of GhHDZ‑87 reduced salt tolerance in cotton, potentially via ABA signaling and ion‑homeostasis pathways. Taken together, this study comprehensively characterized the GhHDZ gene family in cotton and identified GhHDZ-87 as a positive regulator of salt tolerance. This study not only provides genetic resources and theoretical support for improving salt tolerant in cotton, but also improves our understanding of the regulatory pathways underlying salt tolerance.
PMID:
42946091
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Oct 2026.
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