Chen Xuemei, Jin Xin, Li Ximei, Lin Zhongxu
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China.
PLoS One. 2015 May 6;10(5):e0126150. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126150. eCollection 2015.
Transcription factors (TFs) play an important role in the regulation of plant growth and development. The study of the structure and function of TFs represents a research frontier in plant molecular biology. The findings of these studies will provide significant information regarding genetic improvement traits in crops. Currently, a large number of TFs have been cloned, and their function has been verified. However, relatively few studies that genetically map TFs in cotton are available. To genetically map TFs in cotton in this study, specific primers were designed for TF genes that were published in the Plant Transcription Factor Database. A total of 977 TF primers were obtained, and 31 TF polymorphic loci were mapped on 15 cotton chromosomes. These polymorphic loci were clearly preferentially distributed on chromosomes 5, 11, 19 and 20; and TFs from the same family mapped to homologous cotton chromosomes. In-silico mapping verified that many mapped TFs were mapped on their corresponding chromosomes or their homologous chromosomes' corresponding chromosomes in the diploid genomes. QTL mapping for fiber quality revealed that TF-Ghi005602-2 mapped on Chr19 was associated with fiber length. Eighty-five TF genes were selected for RT-PCR analysis, and 4 TFs were selected for qRT-PCR analysis, revealing unique expression patterns across different stages of fiber development between the mapping parents. Our data offer an overview of the chromosomal distribution of TFs in cotton, and the comparative expression analysis between Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense provides a rough understanding of the regulation of TFs during cotton fiber development.
转录因子（TFs）在植物生长发育调控中发挥着重要作用。对转录因子结构和功能的研究是植物分子生物学的一个前沿研究领域。这些研究结果将为作物遗传改良性状提供重要信息。目前，大量的转录因子已被克隆，其功能也已得到验证。然而，在棉花中转录因子基因定位的研究相对较少。为了在本研究中对棉花转录因子进行基因定位，针对植物转录因子数据库中公布的转录因子基因设计了特异性引物。共获得977个转录因子引物，并在15条棉花染色体上定位了31个转录因子多态性位点。这些多态性位点明显优先分布在第5、11、19和20号染色体上；来自同一家族的转录因子定位到棉花同源染色体上。电子定位验证了许多定位的转录因子在二倍体基因组中定位在其相应染色体或其同源染色体的对应染色体上。纤维品质的QTL定位显示，位于第19号染色体上的TF-Ghi005602-2与纤维长度相关。选择85个转录因子基因进行RT-PCR分析，选择4个转录因子进行qRT-PCR分析，揭示了定位亲本之间纤维发育不同阶段独特的表达模式。我们的数据概述了棉花中转录因子的染色体分布，陆地棉和海岛棉之间的比较表达分析为了解棉花纤维发育过程中转录因子的调控提供了大致的认识。
