title: Genome-Wide Identification of the MIKC-Type MADS-Box Gene Family inGossypium hirsutumL. Unravels Their Roles in Flowering.
abstract: Cotton is one of the major world oil crops. Cottonseed oil meets the increasing demand of fried food, ruminant feed, and renewable bio-fuels. MADS intervening keratin-like and C-terminal (MIKC)-type MADS-box genes encode transcription factors that have crucial roles in various plant developmental processes. Nevertheless, this gene family has not been characterized, nor its functions investigated, in cotton. Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of MIKC-type MADS genes in the tetraploidGossypium hirsutumL., which is the most widely cultivated cotton species. In total, 110GhMIKCgenes were identified and phylogenetically classified into 13 subfamilies. The Flowering locus C (FLC) subfamily was absent in theGossypium hirsutumL. genome but is found in Arabidopsis andVitis viniferaL. Among the genes, 108 were distributed across the 13 A and 12 of the D genome's chromosomes, while two were located in scaffolds.GhMIKCswithin subfamilies displayed similar exon/intron characteristics and conserved motif compositions. According to RNA-sequencing, most MIKC genes exhibited high flowering-associated expression profiles. A quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that some crucial MIKC genes determined the identities of the five flower organs. Furthermore, the overexpression ofGhAGL17.9in Arabidopsis caused an early flowering phenotype. Meanwhile, the expression levels of the flowering-related genesCONSTANS (CO), LEAFY (LFY)andSUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 (SOC1)were significantly increased in these lines. These results provide useful information for future studies ofGhMIKCs'regulation of cotton flowering.
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Xinjiang Agriculture UniversityUrumqi, China; Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyang, China.
authors.forename: Zhongying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Xinjiang Agriculture UniversityUrumqi, China; Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyang, China.
authors.forename: Daoqian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Xinjiang Agriculture UniversityUrumqi, China; Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyang, China.
authors.forename: Zhaoen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyang, China; Cotton Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural SciencesHefei, China.
authors.forename: Changfeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Anyang, China.
authors.forename: Ghulam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Qanmber
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Anyang, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Anyang, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Anyang, China.
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Anyang, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Anyang, China.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Xinjiang Agriculture University Urumqi, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Xinjiang Agriculture University Urumqi, China.
authors.forename: Quanjia
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Xinjiang Agriculture UniversityUrumqi, China; Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyang, China.
authors.forename: Fuguang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Xinjiang Agriculture UniversityUrumqi, China; Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyang, China.
authors.forename: Zuoren
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
keywords: GhMIKCs; Gossypium hirsutum L.; expression patterns; flower; phylogeny; structure