AUTHOR=Yan Mengyuan , Yu Xiaotian , Zhou Gen , Sun Dongli , Hu Yu , Huang Chenjue , Zheng Qintao , Sun Nan , Wu Jiayan , Fu Zhaobin , Li Libei , Feng Zhen , Yu Shuxun 

TITLE=GhCDPK60 positively regulates drought stress tolerance in both transgenic Arabidopsis and cotton by regulating proline content and ROS level

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1072584

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.1072584

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinases (CDPKs) involved in regulating downstream components of calcium signaling pathways play a role in tolerance to abiotic stresses and seed development in plants. However, functions of only a few cotton CDPKs have been clarified at present. In this study, 80 conserved CDPKs in <italic>Gossypium hirsutum</italic> L. were identified and characterized, which was divided into four subgroups. Among them, the transcript level of <italic>GhCDPK60</italic> was significantly upregulated under drought and several hormone treatments. And we found that the expression levels of several stress-inducible genes down-regulated in <italic>GhCDPK60</italic>-silence cotton and up-regulated in <italic>GhCDPK60</italic>-overexpressing <italic>Arabidopsis</italic>. In addition, physiological analyses demonstrated that <italic>GhCDPK60</italic> improved drought stress tolerance by improving the osmotic adjustment ability and reducing the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants. These findings broaden our understanding of the biological roles of <italic>GhCDPK60</italic> and mechanisms underlying drought stress tolerance in cotton.</p>