Expression analysis of two novel cotton 14-3-3 genes in root development and in response to salt stress

14-3-3 proteins are phosphoserine-binding proteins that regulate the activities of a wide array of targets via direct protein-protein interactions, and may play an important role in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, two cDNAs ( designated as Gh14-3-3b and Gh14-3-3c) encoding putative 14-3-3 proteins were isolated from cotton cDNA libraries. Gh14-3-3b gene encodes a protein of 268 amino acids, while Gh14-3-3c gene encodes a protein of 261 amino acids. Real-time RT-PCR analysis revealed that both the Gh14-3-3b and Gh14-3-3c genes were preferentially expressed in roots. The transcript levels of both the genes were the highest in 3-day-old roots, and then dramatically decreased to relatively low levels in parallel with root development. In addition, the expression of these Gh14-3-3 genes in roots was significantly up regulated by salt treatments, suggesting that they may be involved in the signaling pathways in response to salt stress in cotton. (C) 2008 National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Limited and Science in China Press. All rights reserved.