title: To Be a Flower or Fruiting Branch: Insights Revealed by mRNA and Small RNA Transcriptomes from Different Cotton Developmental Stages.
abstract: The architecture of the cotton plant, including fruit branch formation and flowering pattern, is the most important characteristic that directly influences light exploitation, yield and cost of planting. Nulliplex branch is a useful phenotype to study cotton architecture. We used RNA sequencing to obtain mRNA and miRNA profiles from nulliplex- and normal-branch cotton at three developmental stages. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and miRNAs were identified that preferentially/specifically expressed in the pre-squaring stage, which is a key stage controlling the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth. The DEGs identified were primarily enriched in RNA, protein, and signalling categories in Gossypium barbadense and Gossypium hirsutum. Interestingly, during the pre-squaring stage, the DEGs were predominantly enriched in transcription factors in both G. barbadense and G. hirsutum, and these transcription factors were mainly involved in branching and flowering. Related miRNAs were also identified. The results showed that fruit branching in cotton is controlled by molecular pathways similar to those in Arabidopsis and that multiple regulated pathways may affect the development of floral buds. Our study showed that the development of fruit branches is closely related to flowering induction and provides insight into the molecular mechanisms of branch and flower development in cotton.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.|College of Bioinformation, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 400065, China.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Cotton Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Anyang, Henan 455000, China.
authors.forename: Xiongming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Chaowei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Sai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: College of Bioinformation, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 400065, China.
authors.forename: Weina
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Kexue
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Guanghao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Shuaipeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: College of Bioinformation, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 400065, China.
authors.forename: Can
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Jianchuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Chunpeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Henan Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
authors.forename: Yingfan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cai
mesh_terms: D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics; D005638:Fruit / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015723:Gene Library; D017343:Genes, Plant; D003368:Gossypium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D010940:Plant Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014157:Transcription Factors