title: Discovery and identification of candidate genes from the chitinase gene family for Verticillium dahliae resistance in cotton.
abstract: Verticillium dahliae, a destructive and soil-borne fungal pathogen, causes massive losses in cotton yields. However, the resistance mechanism to V. dahilae in cotton is still poorly understood. Accumulating evidence indicates that chitinases are crucial hydrolytic enzymes, which attack fungal pathogens by catalyzing the fungal cell wall degradation. As a large gene family, to date, the chitinase genes (Chis) have not been systematically analyzed and effectively utilized in cotton. Here, we identified 47, 49, 92, and 116 Chis from four sequenced cotton species, diploid Gossypium raimondii (D5), G. arboreum (A2), tetraploid G. hirsutum acc. TM-1 (AD1), and G. barbadense acc. 3-79 (AD2), respectively. The orthologous genes were not one-to-one correspondence in the diploid and tetraploid cotton species, implying changes in the number of Chis in different cotton species during the evolution of Gossypium. Phylogenetic classification indicated that these Chis could be classified into six groups, with distinguishable structural characteristics. The expression patterns of Chis indicated their various expressions in different organs and tissues, and in the V. dahliae response. Silencing of Chi23, Chi32, or Chi47 in cotton significantly impaired the resistance to V. dahliae, suggesting these genes might act as positive regulators in disease resistance to V. dahliae.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics &Germplasm Enhancement, Hybrid Cotton R&D Engineering Research Center, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics &Germplasm Enhancement, Hybrid Cotton R&D Engineering Research Center, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics &Germplasm Enhancement, Hybrid Cotton R&D Engineering Research Center, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Liangliang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics &Germplasm Enhancement, Hybrid Cotton R&D Engineering Research Center, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Guilin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics &Germplasm Enhancement, Hybrid Cotton R&D Engineering Research Center, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Xueying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Xinyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics &Germplasm Enhancement, Hybrid Cotton R&D Engineering Research Center, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Wangzhen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D002688:Chitinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D032461:Chromosomes, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D004171:Diploidy; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D020868:Gene Silencing; D017343:Genes, Plant; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D003368:Gossypium / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D057891:Tetraploidy; D020172:Verticillium / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D002688:Chitinases