Recently, the research entitled “Natural Variations in the  Cis  -Elements of GhRPRS1  Contributing to Petal Color Diversity in Cotton” has been published by Plant Biotechnology Journal (IF = 10.1). In this paper, a researcher at the Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, revealed the effects of natural variation in the cis-acting elements of the GhRPRS1 gene promoter on the color diversity of cotton petals, providing new insights into the evolution of orthologous genes and new ideas for improving agronomic traits through promoter modification strategies.

In this study,  they employed a clone mapping strategy, mapping the red petal trait to a specific region on chromosome A07 in upland cotton. Genomic comparisons and phylogenetic analyses revealed that the red petal phenotype introgressed from  G. bickii . Transcriptome analysis indicated that  GhRPRS1 , which encodes a glutathione S-transferase, was the causative gene for the red petal colour. Knocking out  GhRPRS1  resulted in white petals and the absence of red spots, while overexpression of both genotypes of  GhRPRS1  led to red petals. Further analysis suggested that  GhRPRS1  played a role in transporting pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. Promoter activity analysis indicated that variations in the promoter, but not in the gene body of  GhRPRS1 , have led to different petal colours within the genus. Our findings provide new insights into orthologous gene evolution as well as new strategies for modifying promoters in cotton breeding.

This work was supported by funding from Natural Science Foundation of Henan (232300421010), the National Key Research and Development Programme (2021YFF1000102-1), Innovation Programme of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAASASTIP-IVFCAAS), the Fundamental Research Funds of State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology (CB2021E03) and the Key Research and Development Project of Henan Province (231111110400).

https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14468