A novel role of the cotton calcium sensor CBL3 was involved in Verticillium wilt resistance in cotton

Background Verticillium wilt, causes mainly by the soilborne pathogen Verticillium dahliae , is a devastated vascular disease resulting in huge financial losses in cotton, so research on improving V. dahliae stress tolerance in cotton is the utmost importance. Calcium as the second messenger acts as a crucial role in plant innate immunity. Cytosolic Ca 2+ during the pathogen infection is a significant increase in plant immune responses. Calcineurin B-like (CBL) proteins are widely known calcium sensors that regulate abiotic stress responses. However, the role of cotton CBLs in response to V. dahliae stress remains unclear. Objective To discover and utilize the gene to Verticillium wilt resistance and defense response mechanism of cotton. Methods Through screening the gene to Verticillium wilt resistance in cotton, four GhCBL3 copies were obtained from the current common cotton genome sequences. The protein domain and phylogenetic analyses of GhCBL3 were performed using NCBI Blast, DNAMAN, and MotifScan programs. Real-time RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of GhCBL3 gene in cotton seedlings under various stress treatments. The expression construct including GhCBL3 cDNA was transduced into Agrobacterium tumefaciens (GV3101) by heat shock method and transformed into cotton plants by Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) method. The results of silencing of GhCBl3 on ROS accumulation and plant disease resistance in cotton plants were assessed. Results A member of calcineurin B-like proteins (defined as GhCBL3 ) in cotton was obtained. The expression of GhCBL3 was significantly induced and raised by various stressors, including dahliae , jasmonic acid (JA) and H 2 O 2 stresses. Knockdown GhCBL3 in cotton by Virus-Induced Gene Silencing analysis enhanced Verticillium wilt tolerance and changed the occurrence of reactive oxygen species. Some disease-resistant genes were increased in GhCBL3 -silencing cotton lines. Conclusion GhCBL3 may function on regulating the Verticillium dahliae stress response of plants.