Recently, the Cotton Molecular Genetics Improvement Team at the Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, unveiled the molecular mechanism of cotton's tolerance to the heavy metal cadmium, providing new insights for breeding cadmium-tolerant cotton varieties and reducing soil cadmium pollution through plant remediation methods. The relevant research findings were published in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
Cotton, as a non-edible cash crop, has natural advantages in remedying soil cadmium pollution. Therefore, investigating the molecular mechanisms of cotton's response to cadmium stress is crucial.
In this study, a cadmium-sensitive gene, GhRCD1, was identified in cotton through insertion mutagenesis. It was found that this gene responds to cadmium stress by regulating a transcriptional cascade among three proteins, integrating oxidative stress pathways and abscisic acid pathways, thus regulating the expression of downstream genes GhHMAs.
The downstream gene GhHMA1 enhances cotton's tolerance to cadmium stress. Image provided by the Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
This regulatory pathway increases the transfer of cadmium into vacuoles, enhancing the transport of cadmium from roots to aboveground parts, thereby improving cotton's tolerance to cadmium stress. The research results provide excellent genes and germplasm materials for breeding cadmium-tolerant cotton varieties, expanding the application of cotton in the remediation of soil heavy metal pollution.
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Science and Technology Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Outstanding Youth Foundation of Henan Province, and other projects.
Related paper information: https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14301
