Fariha Qadir1, Abdul Razzaq1, 2, Ghulam Rasool1 and Abdul Hafeez3
1Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, the University of Lahore, Pakistan; 2Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China; 3Department of Agronomy, Sindh Agriculture University Sub-Campus Umerkot 69100
*Corresponding author: biolformanite@gmail.com
Cotton (Gossypium) is considered a white gold. It is grown in different countries such as China, United States of America, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Mexico. Pakistan is ranked 5th in cotton producing countries. It shares significantly in GDP of a country. It contributes to strengthen the economy of a country. Development of salt tolerant genotypes has been a major bottleneck issue to grow them on salt affected area in order to enhance the productivity of cotton. Extensive research is being carried out to cater the problems associated with the cotton production and its quality. A comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the cotton ASR gene family is presented in this work, encompassing three species and fully identifying and categorizing 20 ASR genes. We looked into how these genes expressed themselves in different cotton organs and growth stages, analyzed their evolutionary traits, and evaluated their responses to abiotic stress. Our analysis included the building of evolutionary tree among three major species of cotton and Arabidopsis thaliana. Different clades were formed which determined the evolutionary relationship between the closely related genes. Chromosomal locations of the ASR genes were also found. Conducting motif analysis, and characterizing their promoter regions through different software made it more concise to understand the integrity and intactness of the ASR gene family. Expression profile, through heat map and co-expression networking, analysis indicates that the ASR gene family of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), is important for stress responses. Notably, we identified GH_D10G0498 as promising candidate for enhancing salt stress tolerance. These discoveries offer insightful information about the biological processes of ASR genes in cotton growth and development, facilitating future research aimed at improving cotton's resilience to environmental stresses