An NAM Domain Gene, , Improves Resistance to Drought Stress in Upland Cotton.

Plant-specific NAC proteins comprise one of the largest transcription factor families in plants and play important roles in plant development and the stress response. L. is a major source of fiber, but its growth and productivity are limited by many biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, the NAC domain gene was functionally characterized in detail, and according to information about the cotton genome sequences, it was located on scaffold42.1, containing three exons and two introns. Promoter analysis indicated that the promoter contained both basic and stress-related elements, and it was especially expressed in the cotyledon of A transactivation assay in yeast demonstrated that was a transcription activator, and its activation domain was located at its C-terminus. The results of qRT-PCR proved that was preferentially expressed at later stages of cotyledon and fiber development, and it showed high sensitivity to ethylene and meJA treatments. Overexpression of resulted in an early flowering phenotype in , and it also improved drought tolerance in both and cotton. Furthermore, VIGS-induced silencing of in cotton led to a drought-sensitive phenotype. In summary, positively regulates drought stress, and it also responds to ethylene and meJA treatments, making it a candidate gene for stress studies in cotton.