College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shannxi, China.
National Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang 455000, Henan, China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Feb;258(Pt 2):129116. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.129116. Epub 2024 Jan 2.
Vascular Plant One‑zinc Finger (VOZ) transcription factor can respond to a variety of abiotic stresses, however its function in cotton and the molecular mechanisms of response to salt tolerance remained unclear. In this study, we found that GhVOZ1 is highly expressed in stamen and stem of cotton under normal conditions. The expression of GhVOZ1 increased significantly after 3 h of salt treatment in three-leaf staged upland cotton. Overexpressed transgenic lines of GhVOZ1 in Arabidopsis and upland cotton were treated with salt stress and we found that GhVOZ1 could respond positively to salt stress. GhVOZ1 can regulate Arabidopsis Vacuolar Proton Pump Pyrophosphatase (H-PPase) gene (AVP1) expression through specific binding to GCGTCTAAAGTACGC site on GhAVP1 promoter, which was examined through Dual-luciferase assay and Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). AVP1 expression was significantly increased in Arabidopsis with GhVOZ1 overexpression, while GhAVP1 expression was decreased in virus induced gene silenced (VIGS) cotton plants of GhVOZ1. Knockdown of GhAVP1 expression in cotton plants by VIGS showed decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities, whereas an increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content and ultimately decreased salt tolerance. The GhVOZ1-AVP1 module could maintain sodium ion homeostasis through cell ion transport and positively regulate the salt tolerance in cotton, providing new ideas and insights for the study of salt tolerance.
植物单锌指（VOZ）转录因子可以响应多种非生物胁迫，但它在棉花中的功能以及对耐盐性的响应分子机制尚不清楚。本研究发现，GhVOZ1 在棉花正常条件下的雄蕊和茎中高度表达。在三叶期陆地棉中，GhVOZ1 的表达在盐处理 3 小时后显著增加。在拟南芥和陆地棉中转基因过表达 GhVOZ1 的植株受到盐胁迫处理，我们发现 GhVOZ1 可以对盐胁迫做出正向响应。GhVOZ1 可以通过与 GhAVP1 启动子上的 GCGTCTAAAGTACGC 位点特异性结合来调节拟南芥液泡质子泵焦磷酸酶（H-PPase）基因（AVP1）的表达，这通过双荧光素酶测定和电泳迁移率变动分析（EMSA）进行了检验。过表达 GhVOZ1 后，拟南芥中 AVP1 的表达显著增加，而 GhAVP1 的表达在 GhVOZ1 的病毒诱导基因沉默（VIGS）棉花植株中降低。通过 VIGS 敲低棉花植株中的 GhAVP1 表达，显示出超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）和过氧化物酶（POD）活性降低，而丙二醛（MDA）含量增加，最终耐盐性降低。GhVOZ1-AVP1 模块可以通过细胞离子转运维持钠离子稳态，并正向调节棉花的耐盐性，为耐盐性研究提供了新的思路和见解。
