Segregation distortion (SD) is a phenomenon common among stable or segregating populations, and the principle behind it is still an issue that puzzles many researchers. An F2:3 generations developed from the wild cotton species of the D genomes was applied to investigate the possible plant transcription factors within the segregation distortion regions (SDRs). We constructed a consensus map between two maps in the D genome, map A; Gossypium klotzschianum and Gossypium davidsonii and Map B; Gossypium thurberi and Gossypium trilobum. The two maps were developed from 188 F2:3 populations for each map, a total of 1492 markers, were linked to the 13 linkage groups. The consensus linkage map size was 1467.445 cM with an average marker distance of 1.0370cM. Chr02 had the highest percentage of segregation distortion with 58.621% followed by Chr07 with 47.887%. A total of 6,038 genes were mined within the segregation distortion regions (SDR region) of Chr02 and Chr07 with 2,308 gene in Chr02 and 3,730 genes in Chr07, we obtained a total of 1,117 domains within the SDR with a total of 622 domains shared between the two chromosomes, the first 9 domains all belonged to the plant resistance genes (R genes), the largest domain was PF00069 with a total of 188 genes. A total of 287 miRNAs were found to target the various genes, such as gr-miR398, gra-miR5207, miR164a, miR164b, miR164c among others which have been found to target top-ranked stress-responsive transcription factors such as NAC genes. Moreover, the genes were found to be regulated by various stress responsive cis-regulatory elements. RNA profiling showed that higher numbers of genes were highly upregulated in abiotic and different fiber development stages. The result shows that the SDR regions could be playing an important role in the evolution of significant genes in plants.

Segregation distortion (SD) is a phenomenon common among stable or segregating populations, and the principle behind it is still an issue that puzzles many researchers. An F2:3 generations developed from the wild cotton species of the D genomes was applied to investigate the possible plant transcription factors within the segregation distortion regions (SDRs). We constructed a consensus map between two maps in the D genome, map A; Gossypium klotzschianum and Gossypium davidsonii and Map B; Gossypium thurberi and Gossypium trilobum. The two maps were developed from 188 F2:3 populations for each map, a total of 1492 markers, were linked to the 13 linkage groups. The consensus linkage map size was 1467.445 cM with an average marker distance of 1.0370cM. Chr02 had the highest percentage of segregation distortion with 58.621% followed by Chr07 with 47.887%. A total of 6,038 genes were mined within the segregation distortion regions (SDR region) of Chr02 and Chr07 with 2,308 gene in Chr02 and 3,730 genes in Chr07, we obtained a total of 1,117 domains within the SDR with a total of 622 domains shared between the two chromosomes, the first 9 domains all belonged to the plant resistance genes (R genes), the largest domain was PF00069 with a total of 188 genes. A total of 287 miRNAs were found to target the various genes, such as gr-miR398, gra-miR5207, miR164a, miR164b, miR164c among others which have been found to target top-ranked stress-responsive transcription factors such as NAC genes. Moreover, the genes were found to be regulated by various stress responsive cis-regulatory elements. RNA profiling showed that higher numbers of genes were highly upregulated in abiotic and different fiber development stages. The result shows that the SDR regions could be playing an important role in the evolution of significant genes in plants.

The activity of genome-specific repetitive sequence is the main cause of the genome variation between Gossypium A and D genomes. Through the comparative analysis of the two genomes, we got a repetitive element (ICRd motif), which repeats massively in the diploid Gossypium raimondii (D5) genome while almost absent in the diploid Gossypium arboreum (A2) genome. We further explored the existence of ICRd motif in G. raimondii, G. arboreum, and two tetraploids (AADD) cotton G. hirsutum and G. barbadense by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and observed the ICRd motif exists in D5 and D-subgenomes but not in A2 and A-subgenome. The ICRd motif was investigated through its two constituents , a length variable tandem repeat region (TR) and a conservative sequence (CS), which highly repeat and evenly distribute in chromosomes of D5 genome. The ICRd motif was revealed as the common conservative region of ancient LTR-TEs. The identifications and investigation of the ICRd motif promote the study on the A and D genome differences, facilitate the research on the Gossypium genome evolution, and provide assistance to subgenome identification and genome assembling.

Background Cotton grows in altering environments that are often unfavorable or stressful for its growth and development. Consequently, the plant must cope with abiotic stresses such as soil salinity, drought, and excessive temperatures. Alkali-salt stress response remains a cumbersome biological process and is regulated via a multifaceted transcriptional regulatory network in cotton Results To discover the molecular mechanisms of alkali-salt stress response in cotton, a comprehensive transcriptome analysis was carried out after alkali-salt stress treatment in three accessions of Gossypium hirsutum with contrasting phenotype. Expression level analysis proved that alkali-salt stress response presented significant stage-specific and tissue-specific. GO enrichment analysis typically suggested that signal transduction process involved in salt-alkali stress response at SS3 and SS12 stages in leaf; carbohydrate metabolic process and oxidation-reduction process involved in SS48 stages in leaf; the oxidation-reduction process involved at all three phases in the root. The Co-expression analysis suggested a potential GhSOS3/GhCBL10-SOS2 network was involved in salt-alkali stress response. Furthermore, Salt-alkali sensitivity was increased in GhSOS3 and GhCBL10 Virus-induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) plants. Conclusion The findings may facilitate to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of alkali-salt stress response and provide an available resource to scrutinize the role of candidate genes and signaling pathway governing alkali-salt stress response