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Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Measuring Gene Expression in Bombarded Barley Aleurone Layers with Increased Throughput
Published on: March 30, 2018
GhBEE3-Like gene regulated by brassinosteroids is involved in cotton drought tolerance
Eryong Chen1,2, Xiaobei Yang1,2, Ruie Liu3
1Henan Engineering Research Center of Crop Genome Editing, School of Life Science and Technology, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, China.
Abstract:
Brassinosteroids (BRs) are important phytohormones that play a vital role in plant drought tolerance, but their mechanisms in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) are poorly understood. Numerous basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family genes are involved in the responses to both BRs and drought stress. GhBEE3-Like, a bHLH transcription factor, is repressed by both 24-epi-BL (an active BR substance) and PEG8000 (drought simulation) treatments in cotton. Moreover, GhBZR1, a crucial transcription factor in BR signaling pathway, directly binds to the E-box element in GhBEE3-Like promoter region and inhibits its expression, which has been confirmed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and dual luciferase reporter assay. Functional analysis revealed that Arabidopsis with GhBEE3-Like overexpression had drought sensitive phenotype, while GhBEE3-Like knock-down cotton plants obtained by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technology were more tolerant to drought stress. Furthermore, the expression levels of three stress-related genes, GhERD10, GhCDPK1 and GhRD26, were significantly higher in GhBEE3-Like knock-down cotton than in control cotton after drought treatment. These results suggest that GhBEE3-Like is inhibited by BRs which elevates the expressions of stress-related genes to enhance plant drought tolerance. This study lays the foundation for understanding the mechanisms of BR-regulated drought tolerance and establishment of drought-resistant cotton lines.
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