ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Genome-Wide Identification and Comparative Analysis of CCCH-Type Zinc Finger Genes in Diploid and Tetraploid cotton (Gossypium) Species
Provisionally accepted
- 1Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang, China
- 2Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, Anyang, China
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CCCH-type zinc finger proteins represent a diverse class of transcriptional regulators that play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and responses to abiotic stress. In this study, 183 CCCH genes were systematically identified from four cotton species (Gossypium arboreum, G. raimondii, G. hirsutum, and G. barbadense) and classified into eight phylogenetic groups. Comparative analyses of gene structures, conserved motifs, and physicochemical properties revealed both evolutionary conservation and lineage-specific diversification. Collinearity analysis showed that the expansion of CCCH genes in tetraploid cotton primarily resulted from polyploidization, with most genes retained from diploid progenitors, while two genes (GhCCCH21 and GhCCCH47) were species-specific to G. hirsutum. Promoter analysis uncovered abundant hormone- and stress-responsive cis-elements, including ABRE, CGTCA-motif, and LTR, suggesting potential roles in ABA, jasmonate, and low-temperature signaling. Expression profiling across tissues and developmental stages indicated that certain CCCH genes, such as GhCCCH24 and GhCCCH14, are preferentially expressed in ovules and fibers, respectively, while others, including GhCCCH23, GhCCCH51 and GhCCCH55, are strongly induced under abiotic stress. Collectively, these findings highlight the functional diversification of CCCH genes in cotton and provide promising candidates for improving stress tolerance and fiber quality.
Keywords: CCCH-type zinc finger proteins, collinearity analysis, expression profiling, Functional diversificationF, abiotic stress
Received: 28 Aug 2025; Accepted: 23 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Sun, Dai, Tian and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaomeng Zhang, 18738237057@163.com
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