title: Gossypol: phytoalexin of cotton.
abstract: Sesquiterpenoids are a class of 15-carbon secondary metabolites that play diverse roles in plant adaptation to environment. Cotton plants accumulate a large amount of sesquiterpene aldehydes (including gossypol) as phytoalexins against pathogens and herbivores. They are stored in pigment glands of aerial organs and in epidermal layers of roots. Several enzymes of gossypol biosynthesis pathway have been characterized, including 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) and farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPS) that catalyze the formation of the precursor farnesyl diphosphate (FPP), (+)-δ-cadinene synthase (CDN) which is the first enzyme committed to gossypol biosynthesis, and the downstream enzymes of CYP706B1 and methyltransferase. Expressions of these genes are tightly regulated during cotton plants development and induced by jasmonate and fungi elicitors. The transcription factor GaWRKY1 has been shown to be involved in gossypol pathway regulation. Recent development of new genomic platforms and methods and releases of diploid and tetraploid cotton genome sequences will greatly facilitate the elucidation of gossypol biosynthetic pathway and its regulation.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
authors.forename: Xiu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Juxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Jinquan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Yingbo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Lingjian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.|Plant Science Research Center, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics and Resources, Shanghai, 201602, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoya
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China. cqyang@sibs.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Changqing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D003368:Gossypium / Q000737:chemistry*; D006072:Gossypol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006903:Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases / Q000378:metabolism; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000094162:Phytoalexins
chemical_list: D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D006903:Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases; D006072:Gossypol; D000094162:Phytoalexins
keywords: cotton; gossypol; secondary metabolism; sesquiterpenoid