Abstract:

The vascular plant one-zinc finger protein （VOZ） is a transcription factor specific to higher plants， which is involved in regulating plant growth and development， as well as responding to biotic and abiotic stresses. To identify the VOZ gene family of cotton and analyze the function of the GhVOZ1 gene under salt stress， the VOZ family in diploid and tetraploid cotton species was analyzed. The results showed that diploid and tetraploid cotton species contained 3 and 8 VOZ members， respectively， and the structures of most VOZs genes in Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense were highly conserved. GaVOZ1， GrVOZ1， GhVOZ1， GhVOZ5， GbVOZ1 and GbVOZ6 clustered together with several salt-tolerant genes， indicating that this group of VOZs had similar functions. The expression of GhVOZs was significantly upregulated under salt stress for 12 h. Among them， the expression levels of GhVOZ1 and GhVOZ5 were upregulated by nearly 7 times compared with the water control， suggesting that these 2 genes were important candidate genes involved in the response to salt stress. GhVOZ1 was localized in cytoplasm， and its overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana could significantly enhance the salt tolerance of the plants. Above results provided reference for deeper understanding of the function of cotton VOZ genes under salt stress and offer new gene resources for molecular improvement of salt tolerance.

Key words: cotton, vascular plant one-zinc-finger protein, GhVOZ1, salt stress tolerance

摘要：

维管植物锌指蛋白（vascular plant one-zinc finger protein，VOZ）是高等植物特有的转录因子，参与调节植物生长发育和响应生物与非生物胁迫。为鉴定棉花VOZ基因家族并解析GhVOZ1基因在盐胁迫下的功能，对二倍体和四倍体棉种中VOZ基因家族进行分析。结果表明，二倍体和四倍体棉种分别含有3和8个VOZ成员，大多数陆地棉和海岛棉VOZ基因的结构具有较强保守性。GaVOZ1、GrVOZ1、GhVOZ1、GhVOZ5、GbVOZ1和GbVOZ6与多个耐盐基因聚为一类，表明这些基因可能具有相似的功能。在盐胁迫12 h时GhVOZs明显上调表达，其中GhVOZ1和GhVOZ5较对照上调近7倍，暗示这2个基因是响应盐胁迫反应的重要候选基因。GhVOZ1定位于细胞质，在拟南芥中超表达能显著增强植株耐盐性。以上研究结果为深入了解棉花VOZ基因在盐胁迫中的功能提供了参考，为耐盐分子改良提供了新基因资源。

关键词: 棉花, 维管植物锌指蛋白, GhVOZ1, 耐盐