Functional analysis of cotton orthologs of GA signal transduction factors GID1 and SLR1

Gibberellic acid (GA) is both necessary and sufficient to promote fiber elongation in cultured fertilized ovules of the upland cotton variety Coker 312. This is likely due to the temporal and spatial regulation of GA biosynthesis, perception, and subsequent signal transduction that leads to alterations in gene expression and morphology. Our results indicate that the initiation of fiber elongation by the application of GA to cultured ovules corresponds with increased expression of genes that encode xyloglucan endotransglycosylase/hydrolase (XTH) and expansin (EXP) that are involved in promoting cell elongation. To gain a better understanding of the GA signaling components in cotton, that lead to such changes in gene expression, two GA receptor genes (GhGID1a and GhGID1b) and two DELLA protein genes (GhSLR1a and GhSLR1b) that are orthologous to the rice GA receptor (GID1) and the rice DELLA gene (SLR1), respectively, were characterized. Similar to the GA biosynthetic genes, expression of GhGID1a and GhGID1b is under the negative regulation by GA while GA positively regulates GhSLR1a. Recombinant GST-GhGID1s showed GA-binding activity in vitro that was augmented in the presence of GhSLR1a, GhSLR1b, or rice SLR1, indicating complex formation between the receptors and repressor proteins. This was further supported by the GA-dependent interaction of these proteins in yeast cells. Ectopic expression of the GhGID1a in the rice gid1-3 mutant plants rescued the GA-insensitive dwarf phenotype, which demonstrates that it is a functional GA receptor. Furthermore, ectopic expression of GhSLR1b in wild type Arabidopsis led to reduced growth and upregulated expression of DELLA-responsive genes.