Preliminary Function Analysis of GhERF020 Gene in Response to Verticillium Wilt in Cotton.

Verticillium wilt (VW) is a disruptive symptom caused by Verticillium dahliae, which affects fiber yield and quality of cotton in China. AP2/ERF transcription factors play prominent role in plant growth, development and stress response. In order to excavate the genes related to resistance to VW in cotton and explore their biological functions, the candidate gene GhERF020 (XM_016842745.1) was obtained by homologous alignment of AT1G22810.1 related gene of Arabidopsis thaliana against V. dahliae. Bioinformatic analysis showed that the open reading frame length of GhERF020 was 441 bp, encoded 147 amino acids. GhERF020 contained a conserved AP2 domain, the relative molecular weight was 16.16 kD without transmembrane structure, belonging to the hydrophilic protein. It was predicted that the promoter region contained response elements of salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MEJA), abscisic acid (ABA) and other response elements. The expression of GhERF020 was induced by V. dahliae infection. Subcellular localization analysis showed that GhERF020 protein was localized in the nucleus. As the expression of GhERF020 was downregulated by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technique, the susceptibility of cotton plants to V. dahliae was significantly enhanced, and the disease index and pathogen biomass were distinctly increased. Above results indicated that GhERF020 was a positive regulator in resistance against V. dahliae in cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]