Profile of cotton flavonoids: Their composition and important roles in development and adaptation to adverse environments

• Published in: Plant physiology and biochemistry Vol. 201; p. 107866
• Main Authors: Long, Lu, Zhao, Xiao-Tong, Feng, Ya-Mei, Fan, Zhi-Hao, Zhao, Jing-Ruo, Wu, Jian-Feng, Xu, Fu-Chun, Yuan, Man, Gao, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: France Elsevier Masson SAS 01.08.2023
• Subjects: Crop protection; Disease resistance; Oxidative stress; Secondary metabolism; Oxidative stress; Disease resistance; Crop protection; Secondary metabolism
• ISSN: 0981-9428; 1873-2690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2023.107866

Cotton is a commercial crop that is cultivated in more than 50 countries. The production of cotton has severely diminished in recent years owing to adverse environments. Thus, it is a high priority of the cotton industry to produce resistant cultivars to prevent diminished cotton yields and quality. Flavonoids comprise one of the most important groups of phenolic metabolites in plants. However, the advantage and biological roles of flavonoids in cotton have yet not been studied in depth. In this study, we performed a widely targeted metabolic study and identified 190 flavonoids in cotton leaves that span seven different classes with flavones and flavonols as the dominant groups. Furthermore, flavanone-3-hydroxylase was cloned and silenced to knock down flavonoid production. The results show that the inhibition of flavonoid biosynthesis affects the growth and development of cotton and causes semi-dwarfing in cotton seedlings. We also revealed that the flavonoids contribute to cotton defense against ultraviolet radiation and Verticillium dahliae. Moreover, we discuss the promising role of flavonoids in cotton development and defense against biotic and abiotic stresses. This study provides valuable information to study the variety and biological functions of flavonoids in cotton and will help to profile the advantages of flavonoids in cotton breeding. [Display omitted] •The widely targeted metabolomic study has identified 190 flavonoids in cotton.•The enriched flavonoids in cotton are involved in defense response.•Reducing the flavonoid production by knocking down GhF3H causes semi-dwarf cotton.•Knock down of GhF3H reduces cotton resistance to UV radiation and fungal pathogen.