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ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Soil and Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355346
Research Project: Precipitation and Irrigation Management to Optimize Profits from Crop Production

Location: Soil and Water Management Research

Title: Regulation of cotton (G. hirsutum) drought responses by mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade-mediated phosphorylation of GhWRKY59

Author
item LI, FANGJUN - China Agricultural University
item LI, MAOYING - China Agricultural University
item WANG, PING - Texas A&M University
item COX, KEVIN - Texas A&M University
item DUAN, LIUSHENG - China Agricultural University
item DEVER, JANE - Texas A&M Agrilife
item SHAN, LIBO - Texas A&M University
item LI, ZHAOHU - China Agricultural University
item HE, PING - Beijing Research Center For Information Technology In Agriculture, Beijing Academy Of Agriculture A

Submitted to: New Phytologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/30/2017
Publication Date: 9/17/2017
Citation: Li, F., Li, M., Wang, P., Cox, K.L., Duan, L., Dever, J.K., Shan, L., Li, Z., He, P. 2017. Regulation of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) drought responses by mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade-mediated phosphorylation of GhWRKY59. New Phytologist. 215(4):1462-1475. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14680.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14680

Interpretive Summary: Drought is a key limiting factor for cotton production, with more than half of the global cotton supply being grown in regions in which water supply is limited. The use of drought resistance cotton varieties is one way farmers can continue to grow cotton in such areas. However, the underlying mechanism of the response of cotton to drought stress remains elusive. Scientists from Texas A&M University and China Agricultural University in the ARS led Ogallala Aquifer Program identified a factor that interacts with genes to regulate the drought stress response in cotton. This is an important step forward in understanding the drought response in crops and may aid developing improved varieties in the future.

Technical Abstract: Drought is a key limiting factor for cotton (Gossypium spp.) production, as more than half of the global cotton supply is grown in regions with high water shortage. However, the underlying mechanism of the response of cotton to drought stress remains elusive. By combining genome-wide transcriptome profiling and a loss-of-function screen using virus-induced gene silencing, we identifed Gossypium hirsutum GhWRKY59 as an important transcription factor that regulates the drought stress response in cotton. Biochemical and genetic analyses revealed a drought stress-activated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade consisting of GhMAP3K15–Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Kinase 4 (GhMKK4)–Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase 6 (GhMPK6) that directly phosphorylates GhWRKY59 at residue serine 221. Interestingly, GhWRKY59 is required for dehydration-induced expression of GhMAPK3K15, constituting a positive feedback loop of GhWRKY59-regulated MAP kinase activation in response to drought stress. Moreover GhWRKY59 directly binds to the W-boxes of DEHYDRATION RESPONSIVE ELEMENT-BINDING PROTEIN 2 (GhDREB2), which encodes a dehydration-inducible transcription factor regulating the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA)-independent drought response. Our study identified a complete MAP kinase cascade that phosphorylates and activates a key WRKY transcription factor, and elucidated a regulatory module, consisting of GhMAP3K15-GhMKK4-GhMPK6-GhWRKY59-GhDREB2, that is involved in controlling the cotton drought response.