Gossypium arboreum GHSP26 enhances drought tolerance in Gossypium hirsutum

Heat-shock proteins (HSP) are molecular chaperones for protein molecules. These proteins play an important role in protein-protein interactions such as, folding and assisting in the establishment of proper protein conformation and prevention of unwanted protein aggregation. A small HSP gene GHSP26 present in Gossypium arboreum responds to dehydration. In the present study, an attempt was made to overcome the problem of drought stress in cotton. A cDNA of GHSP26 was isolated from G. arboreum, cloned in plant expression vector, pCAMBIA-1301 driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and introduced into Gossypium hirsutum. The integration and expression studies of putative transgenic plants were performed through GUS assay; PCR from genomic DNA, and quantitative real-time PCR analysis. Transgenic cotton plants showed an enhanced drought tolerance, suggesting that GHSP26 may play a role in plant responsiveness to drought.